Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment her Department has made of the role of (a) Solicitors Regulation Authority-regulated lawyers and (b) Financial Conduct Authority-regulated financial advisers in facilitating qualifying recognised overseas pension schemes.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The legal profession in England and Wales operates independently of government. The responsibility for regulating the sector sits with the approved regulators, overseen by the Legal Services Board (LSB). The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is responsible for regulating the professional conduct of solicitors and law firms in England and Wales. As part of its role, the SRA investigates consumers’ complaints when allegations of solicitor misconduct are made and has a number of disciplinary powers, including the power to issue fines and refer an individual to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, which can suspend or strike a solicitor off the roll. Given the sector’s independence, it would not be appropriate for the Ministry of Justice to interfere with the legal activities of regulated professionals. Complaints about a solicitor’s conduct can be made directly to the SRA, via the following link: https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor/.
Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes (QROPS) are designed to offer individuals the flexibility to transfer their UK pension savings to an overseas pension scheme, for example if relocating abroad. Queries regarding these pension schemes are best directed to the Department for Work and Pensions.
HM Treasury is responsible for financial services policy and matters relating to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to ensure that the concerns of pension fraud victims are being handled correctly by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The legal profession in England and Wales operates independently of government, with regulation overseen by the Legal Services Board (LSB). The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is responsible for regulating the professional conduct of solicitors and law firms. As part of its role, the SRA investigates consumers’ complaints when allegations of solicitor misconduct are made. It has a number of disciplinary powers, including the power to issue fines and refer an individual to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, which can suspend or strike a solicitor off the roll. If someone wishes to complain about the conduct of a solicitor to the SRA, they can do so via the following link: https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor/. The effectiveness of the SRA’s actions in this sphere is overseen by the LSB.
The Government also has a key role to play in combatting pension fraud. In particular, the Government supports the Pension Scams Action Group (PSAG), a multi-agency taskforce which includes the Department for Work and Pensions, His Majesty’s Treasury, the Financial Conduct Authority and The Pensions Regulator amongst other members. The PSAG works to improve public awareness of pension scams and share intelligence leading to enforcement and disruption activity.