Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the efficiency and effectiveness of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme in its assessment of mortgage mis-selling complaints.

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme may be able to pay compensation to customers who have lost money as a result of bad mortgage advice or been mis-sold mortgage endowments. The FSCS can only pay compensation if the firm, broker, or advisor that the customer dealt with was regulated and has failed. Any complaints about live regulated firms should be addressed to the Financial Ombudsman Service. For mortgage claims, the FSCS carries out its compensation function within rules set by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), but is operationally independent of them. The FSCS publishes an annual report and levy class statements, including for the home finance intermediation levy class. The FSCS’s certified accounts and audit report are provided to HM Treasury each year, and copies are laid before Parliament.