§ Mr. TimmsTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to regulate pre-payments for funerals. [53939]
§ Ms HewittThe planned legislation to establish the Financial Services Authority as a single financial regulator provides the opportunity to put in place some essential protections for pre-payments for funerals. Pre-payments for funerals will be included in the scope of regulation under the Bill. However, we will be looking at ways of excluding from direct regulation under the Bill arrangements that offer sufficient protection, such as plans backed by life insurance policies, which meet certain criteria. Consumer concerns about the conduct of the funeral business will remain the responsibility of the Department of Trade and Industry.
The Government will be consulting on the proposals in due course. A consultation document will explain our plans in more detail. As part of the consultation we will be seeking views on possible criteria which life policies backing pre-paid funeral plans might meet if the plans are to stay outside the scope of the Bill. The key aim in setting these criteria will be to see that appropriate safeguards exists, so that when the funeral is delivered, the money is there to pay for it.
I am determined to see that pre-payments for funerals are kept safely and are sufficient to meet the funeral costs. The framework I propose is designed to ensure that, as far as possible, consumers get the funeral for which they have paid.