§ Mr. Ian StewartTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the establishment of a voluntary code for the Financial Services Review Group. [137678]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonI am pleased to announce that the Government have appointed Dr. Anne Julius to chair the Group. The other members of the Group will be announced shortly.
The review will examine:
whether the voluntary codes for financial services are delivering sufficiently strong benefits to consumers;what scope there is to introduce greater independence and consumer representation in the drawing up of codes;what role there is for the Ombudsman in influencing or determining standards for consumers;whether greater information disclosure can be achieved without the need for further regulation.Dr. Julius will serve in a personal capacity, as will all the members of the group. The group will be asked to publish its report by April 2001.