Treasury chief secretary banned from making housing decisions because of housing company

The Chief Secretary of the Treasury was not allowed to participate in housing planning and decisions because of his lucrative real estate interests, he revealed.

Chris Philp retained a substantial stake in a group providing loans for developments and is a director of an investment firm - despite his promotion to Kwasi Kwarteng's deputy.

The Treasury had declined to say whether Mr Philp would be required to sell his interests, put them in trust without scrutiny or being excluded from housing policy discussions.

The minister has now said a process in Whitehall to establish whether there are conflicts of interest li és to his business interests is still ongoing.

But he added: "In the meantime, I have been excused from making decisions which essentially relate to housing planning and policy. So I don't make decisions in that area."

Asked how many properties he owns, the Chief Treasury Secretary replied, "I own two, one in the central London and a constituency house in Croydon.

On his involvement with Pluto Finance, Mr Philp told Times Radio: "It is a business that I I created 12 years ago, which is a financial company and I am a shareholder, but I have nothing to do with its day-to-day management."

The company grants loans of several million books for developments, including luxury buildings in the City of London, whose developers have sought an exemption to avoid having to offer affordable housing.

According to MPs' Register of Interests , Mr. Philp holds a stake of more than 15% and is a partner in Pluto Partners, the ultimate owner of Pluto Finance.< /p>

He is also a director of a company of wholly owned investment, advisory and consultancy firm, called Millgap Ltd.

Mr. Philp is believed not to be considered active in trading, although he is still registered as active at Companies House and is not recorded as inactive on the MPs Register of Interests.

The minister made headlines after the mini-budget when he celebrated he had briefly boosted the value of the pound – moments before it plunged to its lowest level in 37 years. /p>

On Sunday he also revealed that workers would be disenfranchised in companies with less than 500 employees, under plans to exploit Brexit to create a more "vibrant" economy.

< p>When asked about the latest controversy last month, a government spokesman said: "The ministerial code sets out the process by which ministers, after being appointed to a new role, must declare and manage their interests, in collaboration with their permanent secretary.

"The Secretary General of the Treasury su He is currently going through this process in accordance with the Ministerial Code, following his appointment last week."