Policy paper

Summary note of the third meeting of the Financial Inclusion Committee: 24 June 2025

Updated 14 July 2025

Attendees:

Emma Reynolds MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Chair) (EST)

Professor Martin Coppack, University of Birmingham and Fair by Design

Hannah Gurga, The ABI (Association of British Insurers)

Michelle Highman, The Money Charity

Sophie Macnair, HM Treasury

Helen Milner OBE, Good Things Foundation

Dame Clare Moriarty DCB, Citizens Advice

Oliver Morley CBE, Money and Pensions Service

Kate Pender, Fair4All Finance

Eric Leenders, UK Finance, deputising for David Postings

Charlotte Clark, Financial Conduct Authority, deputising for Sarah Pritchard

Dan Rusbridge, HM Treasury

Jasjyot Singh OBE, Lloyds Banking Group

Helen Undy, Money and Mental Health Policy Institute

Emma Thomas, Experian, deputising for Jonathan Westley

Apologies

Doug Brown, Aviva

Welcome

EST set out the vision which underpins the financial inclusion strategy: ensuring that people have access to affordable products and services in order to support their financial wellbeing.  

EST talked about the wider context: the Government’s focus on improving living standards from a challenging fiscal position.  She noted that the recent Spending Review had provided funding for affordable housing, local transport, and training for young people, as well as launching a Crisis and Resilience Fund. 

She reassured members that she and HMT officials were actively involved in relevant plans and strategies being developed by other departments: the Curriculum and Assessment Review commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE), the Child Poverty Taskforce, the Home Office’s Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, the Motor Insurance Taskforce and DSIT’s Digital Inclusion Action Plan.

Presentation of recommendations and proposed interventions

EST invited the chairs of the sub-committees and HM Treasury officials to present recommendations and proposed interventions related to the six areas of focus set out in the Committee’s Terms of Reference (digital inclusion and access to banking services, access to credit, access to insurance, problem debt, financial education and capability, and savings) with consideration of the cross-cutting themes of accessibility, mental health and economic abuse.    

Jas Singh presented the recommendations from the Digital Inclusion and Access to Banking sub-committee.  The recommendations would help people to access and use digital financial tools if they choose to do so, and would ensure that no one is left behind in a digitised economy.   

Kate Pender presented the recommendations from the Access to Credit sub-committee, which would help individuals and households to smooth their expenditure and make financial pressures more manageable. 

Hannah Gurga presented the recommendations from the Access to Insurance sub-committee which were designed to build financial resilience, support work and employment opportunities, and to improve the economic potential of people. 

HMT officials then presented the proposed interventions related to problem debt, financial education and capability, and savings.  The problem debt interventions should support people struggling to extract themselves from a financial crisis.  Those interventions related to financial education and capability would give people the tools and skills to build a more secure financial future for themselves and their families.  The savings interventions will help more people to build their financial resilience by encouraging them to maintain an emergency savings buffer through a regular savings habit.

Discussion

There was a wide-ranging discussion about the ambition, impact, feasibility and sustainability of the recommendations brought forward by sub-committees and the potential interventions proposed by HMT officials. 

Committee members also discussed how the recommendations interacted with the three cross-cutting themes of the strategy.

Members also raised the importance of outcome-based metrics and measurement of the strategy.

Closing remarks

EST thanked attendees, particularly the sub-committee chairs, for their work to date and for sharing their thoughts in the meeting.  HMT officials will now begin to draft the strategy, which will be published in 2025.  EST alerted members that HMT officials are likely to be in touch with them to discuss specific proposals over the coming weeks.