City minister Emma Reynolds: 'We have failed to drive an investment culture' in the UK

House of Lords committee hearing

Economic secretary to the Treasury and City minister Emma Reynolds has admitted the UK has “failed to drive an investment culture”, as it shied away from risk following the Global Financial Crisis.

Speaking at a House of Lords Financial Services Regulation Committee hearing today (5 February), Reynolds noted that consumers currently hold "hundreds of billions of pounds" in Cash ISAs, and argued that the widely held notion that cash is a good investment needs to be overturned. According to the most recent figures from HM Revenue & Customs, in the 2022-23 financial year, £71.6bn was subscribed to adult ISAs, with the vast majority (around £40bn) in Cash ISAs. Allowing people to invest their money "is part of consumer protection", she said, while being quizzed about the regulators'...