Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what action they took in respect of Safe Hands Funeral Plans following concerns raised in 2017 by Fairer Finance and the Funeral Planning Authority.

The government recognises the difficulty and challenges facing those who have lost money because their funeral plan providers have been shown to be unable to fulfil the promises they made to their customers.

In January 2021, the government legislated to bring all pre-paid funeral plan providers and intermediaries within the regulatory remit of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) from 29 July 2022. This has ensured that 1.6 million funeral plan customers are, for the first time, protected by compulsory and robust regulation.

The two largest providers that have gone into administration since the government legislated are Safe Hands, with approximately 46,000 customers and One Life, with approximately 14,000 customers. We also understand that some smaller providers have entered administration.

During a wide-ranging meeting with industry in July 2017 to discuss pre-paid funeral plans, some concerns about Safe Hands funeral plans were raised with HM Treasury.

In response, officials advised that such concerns should be reported to the FCA, reflecting the fact that HM Treasury has no investigatory or enforcement powers of its own.