My Lords, I am very grateful to the Minister for introducing this SI, which we support, at such short notice. I note that the new prospectus regime is not due to come into effect until 2025. In the meantime, the UK’s public markets will continue to be at a competitive disadvantage. Given that the recent Financial Services and Markets Act contained a new competitiveness objective, does the Minister believe that swifter progress could be made on prospectus reform to support the UK’s international competitiveness?
The Explanatory Memorandum accompanying this SI notes that, in relation to regulated markets,
“the FCA will be given enhanced rulemaking responsibilities”—
for example, to set out when a prospectus is required or what it should contain. The EM also notes that the new regime will not come into effect until the FCA has made these new rules. Can the Minister clarify what progress the FCA has so far made and whether she is confident that this will not introduce any further delay to the new prospectus regime taking effect?
Finally, in the Treasury’s initial review of the prospectus regime, the Government committed to introducing a new regime of regulatory deference for offers into the UK of securities listed on certain designated overseas stock markets. The review was published almost two years ago, yet this SI does not introduce that deference mechanism for prospectuses. Can the Minister confirm whether such a regime remains under consideration and, if so, when and how it might be delivered?