§ Mrs. CaltonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many complaints have been received in the past year by the Investment Ombudsman; how many have been upheld; and what the terms of reference are of the Ombudsman. [98006]
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§ Ruth KellyThe Office of the Investment Ombudsman became a part of the Financial Ombudsman Service on 1 December 2001. The Financial Ombudsman Service replaced the eight separate complaint-handling schemes that existed before for financial services disputes.
Page 14 of the Annual Report by the Financial Ombudsman Service for the year 2001–02, published in June 2002, gives an analysis of the different categories of complaints received by them. Page 16 gives an analysis of the outcomes of cases considered by them in 2002–02.
The Financial Ombudsman Service's terms of reference form a part of the Complaints Sourcebook, contained in the Financial Service Authority's Handbook of rules and guidance. Chapter 2 sets out the Ombudsman's jurisdiction, Chapter 3 sets out the Ombudsman's complaint handling procedures and Chapter 4 contains the standard terms for the Ombudsman's voluntary jurisdiction. The Complaints Sourcebook is available in HTML format on FSA's website at the following address: http://www.fsa.gov.uk/ vhb/html/disp/DISPtoc.html