Finance Bill: Bill 77 of 2024-25
The government introduced the Finance Bill in the House of Lords on 4 March 2025. The House is scheduled to debate the bill at second reading and all remaining stages on 19 March 2025.

This House of Lords Library Briefing has been prepared in advance of the debate on 18 January 2018 on the following motion moved by Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat) “that this House takes note of the case for the UK to remain a global leader for green finance, and for the UK’s financial sector to be resilient to climate change”.
Green Finance and the Resilience of the Financial Sector to Climate Change (311 KB , PDF)
The UK Government has defined green finance as including private sector investments in technologies, infrastructure and start-ups which assist in the creation of jobs, the expansion of businesses and the development of economic growth, whilst reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The G20’s Green Finance Study Group (GFSG) has described green finance as financing investments that provide environmental benefits in the broader context of environmentally sustainable development.
This Briefing outlines what green finance is, recent government policies designed to promote it and finishes with an examination of the potential effects of climate change on the UK’s financial sector, with a particular focus on the work of the Bank of England.
Green Finance and the Resilience of the Financial Sector to Climate Change (311 KB , PDF)
The government introduced the Finance Bill in the House of Lords on 4 March 2025. The House is scheduled to debate the bill at second reading and all remaining stages on 19 March 2025.
Studies indicate that biodiversity is declining. The UK and other countries are signed up to international agreements requiring national strategies that tackle biodiversity loss. The Labour government has been conducting a rapid review of the previous administration’s environmental improvement plan to develop a new strategy to protect the natural environment.
Over the last three decades, the number of bank branches in the UK has declined due to advances in technology and changing customer habits. Stakeholders have argued that these closures have negatively affected rural communities. In recent years, successive governments and the Financial Conduct Authority have taken action aimed at ensuring sufficient access to banking services, including for rural communities. This briefing provides an overview of these measures, as well as information on the number of bank closures and their impact on rural communities.