Reeves and Healey expand state investment bodies, prompting calls for tighter oversight
The chancellor has given the National Wealth Fund and the British Business Bank substantial new capital, and a commentator argues that a dedicated regulator is needed to keep both on mission.
The National Wealth Fund and the British Business Bank, two state-funded investment bodies that have become central to the government's growth strategy, are set to receive substantial new capital in the latest budget. The Wealth Fund will receive a further £15.4bn over the next half decade, on top of its existing £27.8bn, while the British Business Bank will get an additional £5bn on top of the £25.6bn it already holds.
The funding boost follows earlier decisions by the former chancellor Rachel Reeves, who first handed extra capital to both institutions. The current chancellor, John Healey, is now going further, extending the commitment to the two bodies at a time when they are being relied upon to support the government's economic agenda.
Nils Pratley, writing in the Guardian, argues that the bodies play an important role but that their growing scale makes closer scrutiny necessary. In his view, a dedicated regulator to keep the National Wealth Fund and the British Business Bank focused on their stated missions is starting to look essential, given the size of the sums involved and their increasing importance to public policy.
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