The Bill

In response to the joint committee’s key recommendations on draft legislation to transform the regulation of UK financial services, the Government has confirmed that in times of crisis the Chancellor should have power to take the helm. Charlotte Hill and William Maycock examine the recommendations and their impact on the bill.

Charlotte Hill is a partner and William Maycock an associate in the financial services and regulation team at law firm Stephenson Harwood. Contact Charlotte and William at charlotte.hill@shlegal.com and william.maycock@shlegal.com.

In the week before Christmas the Joint Committee of the House of Lords and the House of Commons on the draft Financial Services Bill published its 130-page report on the proposed bill for reform of the financial services regulatory structure in the UK. The joint committee believed the Government had to make significant changes to the draft in order to clarify the objectives, powers and accountability of the new regulatory bodies; the bill was too confused in its current form. In response, the Government has now published an amended Financial Services Bill and accompanying documentation, including an HM Treasury policy paper. Firms in the financial services sector, and especially compliance officers, should be keeping abreast of the entire process and, now the bill is before Parliament, considering what it will mean for them and their firms.