A senior Treasury minister has admitted the government has not “got its head around” the asset management industry’s evolving stance towards stewardship and environmental, social and governance issues, despite having introduced rules requiring pension schemes to disclose their ESG credentials.

Appearing during the Conservative Party conference in Manchester on a panel debating the future of capitalism, Jesse Norman, financial secretary to the Treasury, responded to a question from an audience member identifying themselves as a BlackRock representative about the increased emphasis their investment clients were placing on ESG and stewardship.