Asked by: Gagan Mohindra (Conservative - South West Hertfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to preserve the protections afforded to victims of fraud through the Financial Ombudsman Service's fair and reasonable remit during the current review into that service.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
On 15 July the government set out the conclusions and next steps of the Economic Secretary’s review of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/fs-sector-strategy-review-of-the-financial-ombudsman-service
The review concluded that in the majority of cases, the FOS fulfils its role as a simple, impartial dispute resolution service. However, in a small but significant minority of cases, the FOS is acting as a quasi-regulator. To stop this the government is now consulting on a package of reforms to the FOS, to improve the regulatory coherence between the FOS and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and provide greater certainty and predictability for firms and consumers.
The review also concluded that the FOS should retain the ‘Fair and Reasonable’ test for determining cases. The government is proposing to adapt the test to align it more closely to the FCA’s rules where, as the UK’s dedicated conduct regulator for financial services, the FCA has an objective to ensure an appropriate degree of protection for consumers and continues to prioritise fighting financial crime.
The government is committed to ensuring the FOS continues to provide customers with a cost-free route to easily resolve disputes with firms, including in cases relating to fraud.
Asked by: Gagan Mohindra (Conservative - South West Hertfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when she plans to conclude the review into the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
On 15 July the government set out the conclusions and next steps of the Economic Secretary’s review of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/fs-sector-strategy-review-of-the-financial-ombudsman-service
The review concluded that in the majority of cases, the FOS fulfils its role as a simple, impartial dispute resolution service. However, in a small but significant minority of cases, the FOS is acting as a quasi-regulator. To stop this the government is now consulting on a package of reforms to the FOS, to improve the regulatory coherence between the FOS and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and provide greater certainty and predictability for firms and consumers.
The review also concluded that the FOS should retain the ‘Fair and Reasonable’ test for determining cases. The government is proposing to adapt the test to align it more closely to the FCA’s rules where, as the UK’s dedicated conduct regulator for financial services, the FCA has an objective to ensure an appropriate degree of protection for consumers and continues to prioritise fighting financial crime.
The government is committed to ensuring the FOS continues to provide customers with a cost-free route to easily resolve disputes with firms, including in cases relating to fraud.
Asked by: Gagan Mohindra (Conservative - South West Hertfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
What fiscal steps he is taking to help provide new employment opportunities to people affected by the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by John Glen
We have protected jobs by extending the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Self-Employment Income Support Schemes out to September 2021.For those people who unfortunately lose their jobs, we are helping them to find new jobs by doubling work coaches, and with additional tailored support such as our flagship Kickstart and Restart programmes.
To further support employment and retraining, at Budget we announced an additional £126 million for traineeships in England to enable more than 40,000 places over the next academic year, and we are increasing payments (to £3,000) for employers who hire new apprentices.