John Healey

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. Two weeks ago at this Dispatch Box, I set out a Budget to provide breathing space now and fresh hope for the future. It was a Budget to steer Britain through the global economic storms and a Budget built on fiscal discipline, which now more than ever underwrites every promise that this Government make to the British people. But as I said then, the only way for British families and for Britain’s finances to be secure in the long term is to have an economy that is growing more strongly. That means we must raise investment, back wealth creation, support innovation and help to create good jobs in all parts of the UK. I welcome the constructive spirit in which the Opposition in the other place have approached this Bill, and let me also pay tribute to our Treasury Minister, Lord Pitt-Watson, for the way in which he led the Bill in the upper House and for the expertise he brought to the debates. It was during those debates that the Opposition Front Bench declared that this Bill was “moving in the right direction”.—[Official Report, House of Lords, 8 July 2026; Vol. 858, c. GC122.] I hope we can continue in this House in a similar spirit of cross-party support. Let us take the example of child trust funds. Back in 2003, I was with the then Chancellor, Gordon Brown, when he promised that the funds would “enable all young people to have more of the choices that were once available only to some.”—[Official Report, 9 April 2003; Vol. 403, c. 286.] Around 6.3 million of these accounts were then opened, but then, regrettably, they were closed in 2011 when the child trust fund was abolished under the Conservative-led coalition. For some families, accessing that money since has not been straightforward. Where a young person lacks the mental capacity to manage their own financial affairs, their parents or carers generally have to obtain formal legal authority through the Court of Protection before they can access a matured child trust fund on their behalf. That can be lengthy and confusing, and up to 126,000 young people have struggled to get and benefit from the money that was set aside for them. I am grateful to the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Ed Davey) and the hon. Member for Horsham (John Milne)—who I had expected to see in this place, but he is not—and others for their work on highlighting this issue. The Government have listened, and we will amend this Bill in Committee to deal with this frustration and unfairness. There is also strong cross-party recognition that the financial services sector is a growth powerhouse for Britain, not only in London but across the rest of the UK, where nearly two thirds of the jobs in this sector are based: in Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham, for example. In Scotland, 94,000 people work in financial services, alongside 36,000 in Wales and 20,000 in Northern Ireland. This one sector generates 8% of the UK’s entire economic output, exports to all corners of the globe, and every year backs thousands of British firms to start and succeed here in Britain.