Treasury responds on Edinburgh Reforms progress

Treasury has responded to a request from the Treasury Committee for an update on delivering the Edinburgh Reforms. It notes:

• reform of the ring-fencing regime: this is in progress with draft legislation being published in late September, with a targeted introduction date of Q1 2024. The Government also plans a policy response to its call for evidence on aligning the ring-fencing and resolution regimes during the first half of 2024;
• that new remit letters for the PRA and FCA were published alongside the original announcement;
• that the policy statement on the plan for repeal and replacement of EU laws was published in December 2022;
• the intention to lay the statutory instrument that will overhaul the prospectus regime before the end of the year;
• that the Government will start to implement the reforms to the Securitisation Regulation by the end of the year, with further work next year;
• the plan for draft secondary legislation on repeal and replacement of the PRIIPs regime by the end of the year, following July’s Government response to the consultation;
• that regulations to repeal the ELTIF Regulation were made in July;
• that the Government is analysing responses on reform of the Short Selling Regulation;
• that the secondary legislation to show how the powers in FSMA 2023 will be used to ensure the FCA has sufficient powers over retained EU payments legislation was made in July;
• that a commencement order to repeal burdensome provisions in the PARs was laid in July;
• that PRA’s consultation on removing rules for capital deduction of certain non-performing exposures closed in June;
• that burdensome requirements on reporting have been removed following the Wholesale Markets Review;
• that an Accelerated Settlement Taskforce has been set up and will publish initial findings by year end;
• that the Investment Research Review has been published and all recommendations accepted;
• the Government and regulatory calls for evidence and discussion papers on SMCR reform that were published in Q1 2023, although no date has been set for a public response on next steps;
• the plan for legislation to implement a UK consolidated tape by end 2023;
• the consultation on guidance on Local Government Pension Scheme Asset pooling;
• the consultation and response on a new value for money framework for DC pension schemes;
• the introduction of improved tax rules for REITs that took effect in April;
• continued assessment of changes to the Building Societies Act;
• acceptance of the recommendations in the Secondary Capital Raising Review, with an intention to deliver remaining measures when parliamentary time allows;
• the consultation on reform to the VAT treatment of fund management;
• publication of the updated Green Finance Strategy and consulting on bringing ESG ratings providers within the regulatory perimeter;
• consultation on the UK CBDC with next steps to be announced in due course;
• the expansion of the Investment Manager Exemption to include crypto assets;
• a plan to implement an FMI Sandbox by the end of 2023;
• a plan to introduce a new “Intermittent Trading Venue” by the end of 2024;
• the consultations on CCA reform, with a plan to consult on more detailed proposals in 2024;
• new regulations on performance fees and the pensions regulatory charge cap; and
• continued work on the guidance/advice boundary.