Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the report by the Centre for Social Justice Collecting Dust, published on 26 April, what assessment they have made of the ability of existing debt collection processes by public sector bodies to meet the equivalent standards expected of private sector firms regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

We welcome the Centre for Social Justice’s report, which highlights that excellent progress has been made in government debt management and suggests further areas for improvement. The Centre for Social Justice report notes the work of the government Fairness Group, the Breathing Space policy and reduction in the rate of benefit deductions as recent advances.

The Government Debt Management Function will be launching a Call for Evidence to gather views on the current debt management approach.

It is important to note that Fairness Principles are embedded in government debt management and are aligned to FCA principles for Treating Customers Fairly. I would encourage the Centre for Social Justice, along with other interested parties to submit evidence through the Call for Evidence.