Mini Budget 22: Government to 'scrap' Solvency II to boost investment

Chancellor says replacing EU law with rules ‘tailor made for the UK’ will free up billions

Jonathan Stapleton
clock • 1 min read
Kwasi Kwarteng. Image: Andrew Parsons/Number 10
Image:

Kwasi Kwarteng. Image: Andrew Parsons/Number 10

The government will replace Solvency II regulations with “rules tailor made for the UK” in a bid to free up billions of pounds of investment, Kwasi Kwarteng has announced.

In the HM Treasury Growth Plan 2022 - released as part of the Mini Budget today - the chancellor said the financial services sector would be at the heart of the government's programme for driving growth across the whole economy.

The plan said that, later this autumn, the government would "bring forward an ambitious deregulatory package to unleash the potential of the UK financial services sector".

It said this would include the government plan for repealing EU law for financial services and replacing it with rules tailor made for the UK, and "scrapping EU rules from Solvency II" to free up billions of pounds for investment.

Solvency II is the EU directive that sets out regulatory requirements for insurance firms, including pension buy-in and buyout providers. It covers areas such as financial resources, governance and accountability, risk assessment and management, supervision, reporting and public disclosure. It came into force at the beginning of 2016.

More on Regulation

How considering vegetable peelers can inform your product design

How considering vegetable peelers can inform your product design

FCA released two reports to mark the third birthday of Consumer Duty

Alison Gay
clock 31 July 2026 • 4 min read
Andy Wealthall: Is there still a place for annual suitability reviews?

Andy Wealthall: Is there still a place for annual suitability reviews?

'We shouldn't solve one problem by creating another'

Andy Wealthall
clock 30 July 2026 • 4 min read
Why the smartest advisory firms are getting ahead of the FCA on non-financial misconduct

Why the smartest advisory firms are getting ahead of the FCA on non-financial misconduct

'September is a starting point, not the finish line'

Gemma McCall
clock 29 July 2026 • 5 min read

In-depth

Rise of the money coach

Rise of the money coach

Advice hurdles pose as push factors but plenty of pull factors too

Sophia Panayi
clock 30 June 2026 • 9 min read
'Bolder moves on taxation' likely if Burnham takes prime minister role

'Bolder moves on taxation' likely if Burnham takes prime minister role

Changes to CGT would have ‘clear implications for wealth planning’

Sophia Panayi
clock 22 June 2026 • 4 min read
IHT on pensions: Advisers on a new way of working

IHT on pensions: Advisers on a new way of working

‘It has shifted the timing and focus of conversations’

Jenna Brown
clock 10 June 2026 • 8 min read