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1353393

	registered interest
	date	07/09/2021
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Credit Unions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the levels of local authority support for credit unions.
	tabling member constituency	Croydon North
	tabling member printed	Steve Reed
	uin	44358
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/09/2021 answer text <p>The Government recognises the vital role of credit unions in the financial wellbeing of their communities, providing an ethical home for their members’ savings and affordable loans to those who may otherwise have to resort to high-cost lenders.</p><p> </p><p>Local authorities have significant freedoms to choose what investments they make and how to finance them. The Government funded £617m for the Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund, as well as further funding for the Small Business Grant Fund. Both funds closed in August 2020. The Government has also provided £2 billion of discretionary grant funding for local authorities in England through the Additional Restrictions Grant, to support businesses in the local area, which credit unions may have benefited from. Local authorities determine how much funding to provide to businesses and exactly which businesses to target.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Separately, the Government has provided significant support for credit unions. In total, £96 million of dormant asset funding has been released to Fair4All Finance, the independent body set up by Government to distribute dormant assets funding to support financial inclusion. Fair4All Finance has so far provided over £15m in financial support to the community finance sector, including credit unions, as part of their COVID-19 response. This includes £12m of equity investments in community finance providers and £3.6m in COVID-19 grants, including funding from their £5m COVID resilience fund. It also includes an expanded Affordable Credit Scale-up Programme, which aims to improve the access and availability of affordable credit, and which I expect to be of benefit to credit unions.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 10/09/2021 07:04:01 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
	tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed

1311566

	registered interest
	date	22/04/2021
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Credit Unions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received on changing credit union capital requirements; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	185970
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2021 answer text <p>HM Treasury officials have regularly engaged with the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the credit union sector. I have also engaged with representatives from the credit union sector through the Consumer Finance Forum and Financial Inclusion Policy Forum, which are bringing financial services and consumer group representatives together to discuss how to best support people through this period.</p><p>Fair4All Finance, the independent body set up by Government to distribute dormant assets funding to support financial inclusion, has set up a £5 million resilience fund to support credit unions and community development finance institutions in England during the COVID-19 pandemic. On 20 May 2020, the Government announced that additional funding through the dormant assets scheme would be released immediately to Fair4All Finance. This included an expanded Affordable Credit Scale-up Programme, which aims to improve the access and availability of affordable credit. I am also aware that credit unions have had access to wider COVID-19 support schemes, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, and grant funding from local authorities.</p>Capital requirements for credit unions are a matter for the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). In March 2020, the PRA concluded its consultation into simplifying the capital regime for credit unions. This reduced complexity by removing the link between a credit union’s activities and membership with capital requirements, removed the old 2% capital buffer, and introduced a graduated rate approach to capital requirements. These proposals were broadly supported by the credit union sector.<p> </p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen grouped question UIN 185969 185971 185972 question first answered 27/04/2021 14:31:24 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1311118

	registered interest
	date	21/04/2021
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Credit Unions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received on changing credit union capital requirements; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	185426
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/04/2021 answer text <p>HM Treasury officials have regularly engaged with the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the credit union sector. I have also engaged with representatives from the credit union sector through the Consumer Finance Forum and Financial Inclusion Policy Forum, which are bringing financial services and consumer group representatives together to discuss how to best support people through this period.</p><p>Fair4All Finance, the independent body set up by Government to distribute dormant assets funding to support financial inclusion, has set up a £5 million resilience fund to support credit unions and community development finance institutions in England during the COVID-19 pandemic. On 20 May 2020, the Government announced that additional funding through the dormant assets scheme would be released immediately to Fair4All Finance. This included an expanded Affordable Credit Scale-up Programme, which aims to improve the access and availability of affordable credit. I am also aware that credit unions have had access to wider COVID-19 support schemes, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, and grant funding from local authorities.</p><p>Capital requirements for credit unions are a matter for the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). In March 2020, the PRA concluded its consultation into simplifying the capital regime for credit unions. This reduced complexity by removing the link between a credit union’s activities and membership with capital requirements, removed the old 2% capital buffer, and introduced a graduated rate approach to capital requirements. These proposals were broadly supported by the credit union sector.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen grouped question UIN 185424 185425 185427 question first answered 26/04/2021 11:10:27 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1275783

	registered interest
	date	12/01/2021
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Credit Unions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to allow credit unions to offer (a) insurance services and (b) credit card services.
	tabling member constituency	Harrow West
	tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
	uin	136430
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/01/2021 answer text <p>The Government recognises the vital role credit unions play in the financial wellbeing of their communities, providing an ethical home for their members’ savings, and affordable loans to those who may otherwise have to resort to high-cost lenders.</p><p>The Chancellor announced at Budget 2020 that the Government intends to bring forward changes to the Credit Unions Act to allow credit unions to offer a wider range of products and services. The Government is engaging with sector representatives and carefully assessing options before bringing forward legislation to ensure that we are delivering reforms which meet members’ needs and support the development of the credit union sector.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 18/01/2021 12:23:23 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
	tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1250491

	registered interest
	date	10/11/2020
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Credit Unions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to allow credit unions to (a) provide loans for members to buy cars, (b) offer insurance products to members and (c) offer credit cards; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Harrow West
	tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
	uin	113471
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2020 answer text <p>The Government recognises the vital role credit unions play in the financial wellbeing of their communities, providing an ethical home for their members’ savings, and affordable loans to those who may otherwise have to resort to high-cost lenders.</p><p>The Chancellor announced at Budget earlier this year that the Government intends to bring forward changes to the Credit Unions Act to allow credit unions to offer a wider range of products and services. This will be done at a future legislative opportunity. The Government is carefully considering options before bringing forward legislation to ensure that we are delivering reforms which meet members’ needs and support the development of the credit union sector.</p><p> </p><p>Fair4All Finance, the independent body set up to distribute dormant assets funding to support financial inclusion, has set up a £5 million resilience fund to support credit unions and community development finance institutions in England through the coronavirus pandemic. Fair4All Finance has also launched its Affordable Credit Scale-up Programme, designed to provide tailored support to sustainably scale affordable credit.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has no plans to require large employers to offer payroll deductions to allow employees to join and save with a credit union.</p><p> </p><p>In Budget 2018, the Government announced a prize-linked savings pilot called PrizeSaver. This is currently operating in 15 credit unions across the country, helping to support the sector through increased membership, awareness and deposits, as well as encouraging participants to build up savings to help them cope with financial shocks. The pilot is scheduled to end in March 2021. The Government has no plans to allow credit unions to offer Premium Bonds or other National Savings and Investments products.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen grouped question UIN 113472 113473 113474 question first answered 17/11/2020 12:01:00 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
	tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1243997

	registered interest
	date	15/10/2020
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Credit Unions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how may members of credit unions there are, by region of the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Harrow West
	tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
	uin	104022
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/10/2020 answer text <p>According to the latest data on credit unions published by the Prudential Regulation Authority, the membership of credit unions in the first quarter of 2020 by region of the UK is given below:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Region</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Membership</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>England</p></td><td><p>923,321</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wales</p></td><td><p>81,766</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Scotland</p></td><td><p>423,554</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Northern Ireland</p></td><td><p>707,271</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Neither HM Treasury, the Prudential Regulation Authority nor the Financial Conduct Authority collect information on the membership of credit unions on a local level. The data on overall credit union membership is available online and can be found here: <a href="https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/news?NewsTypes=571948d14c6943f7b5b7748ad80bef29&amp;Taxonomies=5de036cac1ff46b49b8ac98c266de410&amp;InfiniteScrolling=False&amp;Direction=Latest" target="_blank">https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/news?NewsTypes=571948d14c6943f7b5b7748ad80bef29&amp;Taxonomies=5de036cac1ff46b49b8ac98c266de410&amp;InfiniteScrolling=False&amp;Direction=Latest</a></p><p> </p><p>In order to offer mortgage products, a credit union must hold special mortgage permissions. Any credit union can apply for these permissions, providing that they can demonstrate they can meet the requirements set out by the Financial Conduct Authority for mortgage lenders. Credit unions also need to comply with the maximum loan value limits set out by the Prudential Regulation Authority.</p><p> </p><p>Currently, 4 UK credit unions hold mortgage permissions. These are Glasgow Credit Union, ScotWest Credit Union, Capital Credit Union and No1 Copperpot Credit Union. The first three are based in Scotland, while membership of No1 CopperPot Credit Union is open to UK police officers and staff. In total, these credit unions have approximately over 140,000 members. We are unable to provide data on the membership of the individual credit unions.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen grouped question UIN 104023 question first answered 23/10/2020 08:47:39 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
	tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1238758

	registered interest
	date	29/09/2020
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Credit Unions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people have belonged to a credit union in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Harrow West
	tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
	uin	96751
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/10/2020 answer text <p>According to the data held by the Prudential Regulation Authority, credit union membership for the past 10 years is as follows:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="2"><p>Credit Union Membership</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Membership numbers</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009</p></td><td><p>1,259,183</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010</p></td><td><p>1,350,039</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011</p></td><td><p>1,427,812</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>1,565,724</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>1,660,610</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>1,758,632</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>1,850,503</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>1,920,709</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>1,969,152</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>2,019,873</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>2,070,452</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The annual data for 2013 onwards is available online and can be found at <a href="https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/news?NewsTypes=571948d14c6943f7b5b7748ad80bef29&amp;Taxonomies=5de036cac1ff46b49b8ac98c266de410&amp;InfiniteScrolling=False&amp;Direction=Latest" target="_blank">https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/news?NewsTypes=571948d14c6943f7b5b7748ad80bef29&amp;Taxonomies=5de036cac1ff46b49b8ac98c266de410&amp;InfiniteScrolling=False&amp;Direction=Latest</a></p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to supporting credit unions, which play a vital role in the financial wellbeing of their communities, providing an ethical home for their members’ savings, and affordable loans to those who may otherwise have to resort to high-cost lenders.</p><p> </p><p>The Chancellor announced at Budget earlier this year that the Government intends to bring forward changes to the Credit Unions Act to allow credit unions to offer a wider range of products and services. This will allow credit unions to continue to grow sustainably for the future and support them in the vital role they play in financial inclusion.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has no plans to publish a credit union development strategy.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen grouped question UIN 96752 question first answered 06/10/2020 14:45:13 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
	tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1238759

	registered interest
	date	29/09/2020
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Credit Unions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish a credit union development strategy; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Harrow West
	tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
	uin	96752
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/10/2020 answer text <p>According to the data held by the Prudential Regulation Authority, credit union membership for the past 10 years is as follows:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="2"><p>Credit Union Membership</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Membership numbers</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009</p></td><td><p>1,259,183</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010</p></td><td><p>1,350,039</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011</p></td><td><p>1,427,812</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>1,565,724</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>1,660,610</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>1,758,632</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>1,850,503</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>1,920,709</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>1,969,152</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>2,019,873</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>2,070,452</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The annual data for 2013 onwards is available online and can be found at <a href="https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/news?NewsTypes=571948d14c6943f7b5b7748ad80bef29&amp;Taxonomies=5de036cac1ff46b49b8ac98c266de410&amp;InfiniteScrolling=False&amp;Direction=Latest" target="_blank">https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/news?NewsTypes=571948d14c6943f7b5b7748ad80bef29&amp;Taxonomies=5de036cac1ff46b49b8ac98c266de410&amp;InfiniteScrolling=False&amp;Direction=Latest</a></p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to supporting credit unions, which play a vital role in the financial wellbeing of their communities, providing an ethical home for their members’ savings, and affordable loans to those who may otherwise have to resort to high-cost lenders.</p><p> </p><p>The Chancellor announced at Budget earlier this year that the Government intends to bring forward changes to the Credit Unions Act to allow credit unions to offer a wider range of products and services. This will allow credit unions to continue to grow sustainably for the future and support them in the vital role they play in financial inclusion.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has no plans to publish a credit union development strategy.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen grouped question UIN 96751 question first answered 06/10/2020 14:45:13 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
	tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1228888

	registered interest
	date	28/08/2020
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Credit Unions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) credit unions and (b) credit unions affiliated to faith groups there are in the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Lewisham East
	tabling member printed	Janet Daby
	uin	82366
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/09/2020 answer text <p>There are currently 429 active credit unions in the United Kingdom.</p><p> </p><p>Neither HM Treasury, the Prudential Regulation Authority nor the Financial Conduct Authority collect information on the affiliation of credit unions to faith groups. It is therefore not possible to provide the number of credit unions affiliated to faith groups in the United Kingdom.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is, however, aware of the strong links between certain faith communities and credit unions. I was pleased to take part in a roundtable recently hosted by one such credit union, the Pentecostal Credit Union, to discuss issues facing its members.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 08/09/2020 08:27:24 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
	tabling member	4698 label Biography information for Janet Daby

1144727

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2019
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Credit Unions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to expand the credit union sector; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Harrow West
	tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
	uin	286605
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The government is committed to supporting credit unions, which contribute to the diversity of the UK’s financial services sector and provide vital services to financially under-served communities.</p><p> </p><p>At Autumn Budget 2018, the Chancellor announced a pilot of a new prize-linked savings scheme offered through credit unions. This will support the credit union sector through increased membership, awareness and deposits, as well as encouraging participants to build up savings to help them cope with financial shocks.</p><p> </p><p>At Autumn Budget 2018 the Chancellor also announced a new £2 million challenge fund to promote innovative solutions from the UK’s Fintech sector to address challenges faced by social and community lenders, including credit unions.</p><p> </p><p>In July 2019 the Government made it easier for Registered Social Landlords to refer tenants to social and community lenders, including credit unions. This should help encourage Registered Social Landlords to grow and develop existing new partnerships with credit unions.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 09/09/2019 11:38:02 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
	tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas