Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to ensure that all consumers are given access to financial services advice.

Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is committed to ensuring that consumers can access high-quality, affordable and suitable financial advice, as well as free-to-access financial guidance, when they need it.

HM Treasury works closely with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the independent regulator of the financial advice market, to ensure that this market works well, competitively and fairly for both firms and consumers.

The Government also sponsors the Money and Pensions Service to provide free, impartial money and pensions guidance directly to consumers online and by telephone.

However, the Government recognises that there are challenges around the cost and availability of financial support.

To address this, the Government and FCA are conducting a joint review of the regulatory boundary between financial advice and guidance, with the objective of improving access to helpful support whilst maintaining strong protections for consumers.