§ Mrs. Iris RobinsonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in full the Penrose report into Equitable Life; and when the report will be published. [85405]
§ Ruth KellyThe Penrose Inquiry is independent of the Government and the timetable for conducting the inquiry is a matter for Lord Penrose. However, Lord Penrose has recently said that he hoped that the inquiry would be able to report to Ministers next summer.
I very much hope to be able to publish the full report of the inquiry. However, it may be that parts of the report will be subject to legal and commercial confidentiality restrictions. I will not be in a position to know whether or not we can publish in full until I have seen Lord Penrose's report. These legal and commercial confidentiality restrictions will be the only constraints on publishing in full. However, Lord Penrose is also aware of these issues and he assures me that he is proceeding on the basis that the report will be published.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what Government schemes exist to compensate policyholders in Equitable Life in the event that it should go into receivership. [85502]
§ Ruth KellyThe Government established the Financial Services Compensation Scheme as part of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The Scheme became operational on 1 December 2001 and acts as an industry financed 'safety net' for customers of finance sector companies which become insolvent. The Scheme would first seek to take measures to safeguard policyholders, for example by trying to ensure that policies are transferred to another company. If this is not possible, compensation may be payable subject to the rules of the Scheme.
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§ Mrs. Iris RobinsonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the regulators in dealing with Equitable Life. [85753]
§ Ruth KellyUnder the terms of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, the FSA is obliged to produce an annual report assessing performance against its statutory objectives of maintaining confidence in the financial system, promoting public understanding of the financial system, securing an appropriate degree of protection for consumers and reducing the potential for financial firms to be used for financial crime. This is the primary mechanism for holding the FSA accountable to Ministers and Parliament.
In August 2001 the Government announced an independent inquiry under Lord Penrose into the events surrounding Equitable Life. The terms of reference of the Inquiry, which covers events going back over 50 years, include the need to identify any lessons to be learnt for the conduct, administration and regulation of life assurance business. The Government looks forward to receiving Lord Penrose's report as soon as he is able to complete it. In addition, the Government published a report by the Financial Services Authority in October 2001 which reviewed the regulation of Equitable Life from 1 January 1999 to 8 December 2000 and which has been submitted as evidence to the inquiry conducted by Lord Penrose.