§ Ms LawrenceTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made by pensions firms in providing redress to the victims of mis-selling in the period up to the end of November. [20718]
§ Mrs. LiddellIn a statement to the House on 18 November 1997,Official Report, columns 155–163, I set out the progress that had been made by firms in redressing victims of mis-selling up until the end of October. I have now received an update from the 41 firms whose progress I have been monitoring, and these are set out in the table. For those firms that fail to make sufficient progress, regulatory discipline is a real prospect. For most of these 41 firms, the regulators' deadline of 31 December, by which 90 per cent. of the most urgent cases must be resolved, is fast approaching. It is now up to each firm to make every effort to make rapid progress so that disciplinary action against them is not called for.
In general most firms have improved their performance over the month. Once again however, the figures show a wide divergence in performance, with some firms making good, if belated progress, and others that still have a disgracefully large task which remains to be tackled.
Of course many firms other than the 41 listed have cases to review. These, too, must be completed within deadlines set by the regulators. Of these firms, the vast majority are independent financial advisers (IFAs), ranging from large firms, employing hundreds, if not thousands, of people, to small sole traders. Few firms are innocent, and no firm will be let off the hook: the customer who has been disadvantaged by the mis-selling of a small IFA has as much right to speedy redress as the customer of the largest pension provider. All firms must complete their reviews without delay, and to the standards set out by the regulators.
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A B C D E F G H NatWest 14,069 3,462 4,125 834 3,291 2,408 17 48 Lloyd's TSB 48,200 8,302 17,190 5,195 11,995 10,480 22 50 50–75 per cent. of cases resolved IFA Network 209 31 81 64 17 11 5 51 Guardian 8,732 860 4,321 733 3,588 2,847 33 51 Commercial Union 7,462 1,012 3,514 693 2,821 2,276 31 53 Pearl 42,505 2,370 26,272 4,833 21,439 15,799 37 54 Sedgwick 11,511 4,253 2,405 951 1,454 1,059 9 54 Prudential 71,358 16,559 42,542 3,294 39,248 19,119 27 55 Royal London 11,432 959 6,684 1,248 5,436 4,120 36 55 Midland 4,787 339 2,856 448 2,408 1,923 40 57 Norwich Union 7,166 2,061 2,452 562 1,890 1,589 22 59 Wesleyan 4,132 222 2,488 732 1,756 1,478 36 59 Legal and General 35,354 13,504 11,921 1,367 10,554 7,803 22 64 Berkeley Independent 86 47 8 8 1 1 1 65 Hogg Robinson 1,922 734 730 248 482 329 17 68 M and E Network 273 151 43 14 29 25 9 70 Equitable Life 11,100 5,575 2,745 1,242 1,503 1,207 11 72 Over 75 per cent. of cases resolved Barclays 16,821 5,973 7,735 1,893 5,842 4,785 28 75 AXA Equity and Law 3,855 684 2,493 652 1,841 1,576 41 76 A: cases identified as requiring review. B: of A, cases where investor was informed that information gained during assessment excluded cases from review. C: number of assessments completed. D: cases where the investor has been informed that no redress is due. E: cases where redress has been offered. F: cases where redress has been accepted. G: cases where redress has been accepted as a percentage of cases identified for review ((F/A)x100). H: cases completed, including exclusions, as a percentage of cases identified for review (((B+D+F)/A)x100).
§ Ms LawrenceTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is proposing to increase public service pensions from April 1998. [20719]
§ Mr. DarlingLegislation governing public service pensions requires public service pensions to be increased annually by the same percentage as State earnings related pensions (additional pensions). My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security announced on 2 December 1997,Official Report, column 186 that additional pensions will be increased by 3.6 per cent., in line with the annual increase in the Retail Prices Index up to September 1997. Public service pensions will therefore be increased by 3.6 per cent., from 6 April 1998, except those which have been in payment for less than a year, which will receive a pro rata increase.