Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2025 to Question 21417 on Equitable Life Assurance Society: Compensation, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing full financial redress in cases where the state has accepted responsibility for personal (a) injustice and (b) financial loss.

In 2010 the government allocated up to £1.5 billon, tax free, for payment to affected policyholders and this decision was in line with the Ombudsman’s report. More detail on the history of the action taken on this issue can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equitable-life-payment-scheme-final-report.

Since the Scheme closed in 2016, the Government’s position on this issue has been clear, that there are no plans to reopen any decisions relating to the Payment Scheme and this issue is considered closed.