UK Treasury Committee report on government plan to address financial exclusion

The House of Commons Treasury Committee published a report on the government's Financial Inclusion Strategy following its inquiry launched in November 2025. The Committee concludes that while the strategy is a welcome first step, it does not amount to a comprehensive plan for tackling financial exclusion in the UK. The Committee found that the strategy fails to show who is financially excluded, where exclusion is concentrated, which products and services people are excluded from, or the reasons for exclusion, making it difficult to assess whether HM Treasury (HMT) is making the right interventions. It calls on HMT to publish a fuller quantitative assessment of the scale, causes and distribution of financial exclusion within six months, supported by clearer targets, data and accountability measures. The Committee also recommends that HMT and the UK Financial Conduct Authority develop firm-level metrics for the largest providers and markets where exclusion causes the greatest harm.

The Committee further argues that measures such as establishing working groups, pilots and consultations are not sufficient indicators of success and raises concerns about the extent of industry influence during the strategy's development. While acknowledging HMT's plans to implement industry-led pilots and working groups, the Committee questions whether these initiatives can deliver meaningful change without clear routes to scale and effective evaluation, and calls on HMT to clarify whether, and how, it will intervene if progress proves insufficient, and what the consequences would be. Given that the Financial Services and Markets Bill is currently before Parliament, and the length of time it could take to pass any future legislation, the Committee recommends that HMT consider now whether the Bill should include further targeted powers to intervene if voluntary action fails to secure reasonable access to essential financial services. This includes access to banking services.

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