The Government has been unequivocal in its view that contracts of payment account facilities should not be terminated on grounds relating to users\u2019 lawful freedom of expression or political beliefs. The Government strongly supports this fundamental right afforded to all people in British society.<\/p>
<\/p>
On 21 July, the Treasury published its policy statement, setting out its plans to enhance requirements relating to payment account contract termination. These changes will extend the notice period for contract termination to 90 days (subject to limited exceptions), and mandate that providers give a clear and tailored reason for termination, unless to do so would be unlawful.<\/p>
<\/p>
Following the announcement, I met with the UK\u2019s largest banks and building societies, whose representatives expressed their commitment to the principle of non-discrimination based on lawful freedom of expression, and to bringing their policies in line with the planned reforms where needed, as soon as possible.<\/p>
<\/p>
Additionally, I note that regulation 18 of the Payment Accounts Regulations 2015 already expressly prohibits credit institutions from discriminating against UK consumers by reason of their religion or belief, or political opinion, as they access payment accounts. The Government has made clear that it expects providers to abide by this legal requirement, and the FCA to use its powers as appropriate to ensure compliance with this requirement.<\/p>
<\/p>
Further to this, the Chancellor has written to the FCA to request an urgent review into the matter of \u2018de-banking\u2019. The FCA is currently undertaking this review and will share the evidence and its findings with the Treasury. This will help inform whether further action is necessary to ensure nobody is being unfairly denied banking facilities.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4874", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Andrew Griffith"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Arundel and South Downs"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Andrew Griffith"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2023-09-06", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : [{"_value" : "194961"} , {"_value" : "195013"} ], "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2023-09-06T15:27:02.077Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "14"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Treasury"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Treasury"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2023-07-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Financial Services: Vetting"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of legislative and regulatory safeguards for preventing financial institutions from (a) refusing to provide and (b) withdrawing services from people on the basis of their lawfully-held political, philosophical and religious beliefs.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1522", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Adam Holloway"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Gravesham"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Adam Holloway"} ], "uin" : "195008"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1654395", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Treasury"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1654395/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Government has been unequivocal in its view that contracts of payment account facilities should not be terminated on grounds relating to users\u2019 lawful freedom of expression or political beliefs. The Government strongly supports this fundamental right afforded to all people in British society.<\/p>
<\/p>
On 21 July, the Treasury published its policy statement, setting out its plans to enhance requirements relating to payment account contract termination. These changes will extend the notice period for contract termination to 90 days (subject to limited exceptions), and mandate that providers give a clear and tailored reason for termination, unless to do so would be unlawful.<\/p>
<\/p>
Following the announcement, I met with the UK\u2019s largest banks and building societies, whose representatives expressed their commitment to the principle of non-discrimination based on lawful freedom of expression, and to bringing their policies in line with the planned reforms where needed, as soon as possible.<\/p>
<\/p>
Additionally, I note that regulation 18 of the Payment Accounts Regulations 2015 already expressly prohibits credit institutions from discriminating against UK consumers by reason of their religion or belief, or political opinion, as they access payment accounts. The Government has made clear that it expects providers to abide by this legal requirement, and the FCA to use its powers as appropriate to ensure compliance with this requirement.<\/p>
<\/p>
Further to this, the Chancellor has written to the FCA to request an urgent review into the matter of \u2018de-banking\u2019. The FCA is currently undertaking this review and will share the evidence and its findings with the Treasury. This will help inform whether further action is necessary to ensure nobody is being unfairly denied banking facilities.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4874", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Andrew Griffith"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Arundel and South Downs"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Andrew Griffith"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2023-09-06", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : [{"_value" : "194961"} , {"_value" : "195008"} ], "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2023-09-06T15:27:02.17Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "14"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Treasury"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Treasury"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2023-07-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Financial Services: Vetting"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to include a review of the potential impact of contract termination by (a) banks and (b) other financial institutions on freedom of expression in its consultation on the Payment Services Regulations 2017.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1522", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Adam Holloway"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Gravesham"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Adam Holloway"} ], "uin" : "195013"} ], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 2, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]} }