§ Mr. KidneyTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many independent financial advisers have applied to the pass scheme for professional indemnity insurance and have not obtained such insurance. [98078]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe Pension Advisers Support System (PASS) was set up by those life offices which use independent financial advisers (IFAs) to provide help to small IFAs in the conduct of the pensions review. It is a voluntary scheme designed to improve speed of delivery of the regulatory requirements to review cases of potential pensions mis-selling.
PASS now has 2,910 members who benefit from a range of services. PASS itself does not provide professional indemnity (PI) insurance but offers members access to a panel of brokers able to assist in securing cover, and a panel of solicitors able to provide confidential advice on legal PI issues.
The PIA requires its member firms to maintain PI cover of a specified standard. While the price of that insurance has risen for some firms in the recent past, it continues to be widely available. While PIA are aware that some IFAs have had problems in finding compliant PI cover, IFAs who follow PIA's standards and guidance should be able to obtain it.
§ Mr. KidneyTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many independent financial advisers have been prevented by the regulators from offering financial advice to the public, and for what reasons, since the start of phase 1 of the Pensions Mis-selling Review. [98077]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonSince 1 April 1995, when the Personal Investment Authority (PIA) issued guidelines to the industry on Phase 1 of the review, 261 Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) firms regulated by the PIA have had their authorisation revoked, and were therefore prevented from offering investment advice to the public. The PIA can revoke firms' authorisation for a wide variety of reasons. No detailed analysis is readily available of the grounds for revocation in the case of these firms.