Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Property Redress Service in dealing with complaints.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department monitors the performance of Property Redress through monthly data returns and regular governance meetings. We take all complaints about their services seriously. Where they arise, we challenge the schemes if we receive suggestions that they have failed to meet the standards to which they subscribe. We are satisfied with the responses to date.
Property Redress are approved as a competent alternative dispute resolution provider under the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015. As part of this, they are subject to periodic review and required to demonstrate how their decision making remains independent.
Asked by: John Whittingdale (Conservative - Maldon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions her Department has had with UK Finance on proposed changes to the (a) role and (b) remit of the Financial Ombudsman Service; and what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of those proposed changes on protections for (i) people in the 79th Group and (b) other vulnerable investors.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Treasury Ministers meet with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the regular business of government. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel
The Government engaged a wide range of stakeholders as part of its review of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), which was conducted between March and July 2025. The Government recently consulted on proposed reforms following the conclusion of the review, and the consultation closed on 8 October 2025. The Government is now reviewing responses, and will set out its proposed next steps in due course. The review’s findings and the consultation on proposed reforms can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/fs-sector-strategy-review-of-the-financial-ombudsman-service.
The Government’s proposed reforms will not undermine the important role of the FOS in providing consumers with a cost-free route to quickly and easily resolve disputes with financial services firms. The review concluded that the FOS’s role providing an impartial dispute resolution service within the financial services regulatory framework should be preserved, and that the fair and reasonable test remains appropriate for its position as an informal alternative to the courts.
The Government is proposing that the fair and reasonable test should be retained and adapted to align with the overall regulatory approach for financial services, so that where conduct complained of is in scope of FCA rules, a firm will be considered to have acted fairly and reasonably.
These reforms will improve the regulatory coherence between the FOS and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), to deliver a more consistent and predictable regulatory environment, which the Government believes will benefit both consumers and industry..
The 79th Group is subject to an ongoing investigation by The City of London Police. As such the Government is unable to comment on the specifics of the case. However, the FCA and PSR have recently written to financial services firms setting out their expectation that firms should determine whether any claims, or parts of claims, are a qualifying APP scam, on an individual basis.
Asked by: John Whittingdale (Conservative - Maldon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with UK Finance on reforming of the role of the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Treasury Ministers meet with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the regular business of government. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel
The Government engaged a wide range of stakeholders as part of its review of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), which was conducted between March and July 2025. The Government recently consulted on proposed reforms following the conclusion of the review, and the consultation closed on 8 October 2025. The Government is now reviewing responses, and will set out its proposed next steps in due course. The review’s findings and the consultation on proposed reforms can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/fs-sector-strategy-review-of-the-financial-ombudsman-service.
The Government’s proposed reforms will not undermine the important role of the FOS in providing consumers with a cost-free route to quickly and easily resolve disputes with financial services firms. The review concluded that the FOS’s role providing an impartial dispute resolution service within the financial services regulatory framework should be preserved, and that the fair and reasonable test remains appropriate for its position as an informal alternative to the courts.
The Government is proposing that the fair and reasonable test should be retained and adapted to align with the overall regulatory approach for financial services, so that where conduct complained of is in scope of FCA rules, a firm will be considered to have acted fairly and reasonably.
These reforms will improve the regulatory coherence between the FOS and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), to deliver a more consistent and predictable regulatory environment, which the Government believes will benefit both consumers and industry..
The 79th Group is subject to an ongoing investigation by The City of London Police. As such the Government is unable to comment on the specifics of the case. However, the FCA and PSR have recently written to financial services firms setting out their expectation that firms should determine whether any claims, or parts of claims, are a qualifying APP scam, on an individual basis.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that appeals for education, health and care plans for SEND children reaching tribunal are processed swiftly.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We acknowledge that more needs to be done to reduce the time parents and young people have to wait to have their appeals heard and determined in the First-tier Tribunal (SEND). We are continuing to invest in the recruitment of up to 1,000 judges and tribunal members across all jurisdictions this year, including specific recruitment for the FTT, including SEND, which will increase judicial capacity.
Alongside this, we are supporting the Tribunal Procedure Committee’s consultation on allowing suitable, lower complexity cases to be determined on the papers—subject to judicial discretion and the option to opt-out—so that hearing time is reserved for the most complex matters. A judicial alternative dispute resolution pilot is also helping to resolve appropriate disputes earlier.
The pressures facing the Tribunal are indicative of wider pressures in the SEND system. We are working with the Department for Education in the longer term to reduce the demands on the tribunal so that the outstanding caseload, and the time taken for the tribunal to determine appeals, is reduced.
Asked by: Robin Swann (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) effectiveness (b) adequacy and (c) efficiency of the performance of the Motor Ombudsman in carrying out its functions.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Motor Ombudsman is a non-statutory ombudsman, set up as a voluntary scheme by the industry and independent of government.
The Motor Ombudsman's activities are documented in their annual reports, complying with the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015. These reports are accessible on its website.
DBT funds the Chartered Trading Standards Institute who accredit and regularly audit The Motor Ombudsman against key principles including neutrality and effective complaints handling under a voluntary framework in the 2015 ADR Regulations.
Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the qualifications held by Energy Ombudsman caseworkers.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Ofgem are responsible for assessing every two years whether the Energy Ombudsman continues to meet the criteria set out in the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes Regulations 2015. This includes assessing whether the Energy Ombudsman staff have the appropriate expertise, including an understanding of the law and the necessary expertise in the resolution of energy disputes.
The last Ofgem review of the Energy Ombudsman was published in July 2024 and found that the Energy Ombudsman met the relevant criteria, available here: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/biennial-assessment-ombudsman-services-under-alternative-dispute-resolution-adr-regulations-2021-2023
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the number of women to have died since the publication of the Government’s Response to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s Investigation into and Reports on the Women’s State Pension age on 17 December 2024; what plans she has for a compensation scheme for women adversely affected by the State Pension age changes; and whether she will make it her policy to enter into alternative dispute resolution.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The decision not to set up a compensation scheme is now subject to live litigation and the High Court has granted permission for a full hearing.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will enter into alternative dispute resolution with women impacted by changes to the State Pension age.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
This issue is now subject to live litigation and the High Court has granted permission for a full hearing.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of using mandatory mediation in the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
Answered by Justin Madders
This government is committed to access to justice, and I share the interest of the Rt. Hon. member’s in reducing the burdens of litigation through Alternative Dispute Resolution. The CAT Rules afford the Tribunal significant powers to encourage and facilitate Alternative Dispute Resolution.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to enter into alternative dispute resolution following confirmation of the Judicial Review into the reasons the Government decided not to pay compensation to women born in the 1950s impacted by her Department's maladministration of State Pension age changes.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government has apologised for the maladministration and committed to learning the lessons from the investigation. The decision not to set up a compensation scheme is now subject to live litigation and the High Court has granted permission for a full hearing.