HL Deb 12 July 2004 vol 663 c130WA
Lord Laird

asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the Written Answer by Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 1 July concerning the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (WA 46), what is meant by "compensation is payable to eligible claimants, nearly always irrespective of current residence". [HL3594]

Lord McIntosh of Haringey:

The statement "compensation is payable to eligible claimants, nearly always irrespective of current residence" refers to certain types of claim against insolvent insurers. For claims from individuals in respect of certain types of insurance contract, the habitual residence of the claimant at the date the insurance contract commenced may determine whether a contract is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, although the scheme's present rules provide that, for this purpose, residence in the UK (including Northern Ireland) does qualify. The scheme's rules are written by the Financial Services Authority and form part of the authority's handbook, which can be found on the FSAs website (www.fsa.gov.uk). The following link goes straight to the scheme's rules: http:// www.fsa.gov.uk/vhb/html/comp/comptoc.html The particular rules illustrating the above point are 5.4.2, 5.4.3 and 5.4.4.

Lord Laird

asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether the Financial Services Compensation Scheme has paid out to an individual or company based in Northern Ireland in respect of an incident which occurred outside Northern Ireland. [HL3595]

Lord McIntosh of Haringey:

The Financial Services Compensation scheme has paid compensation to claimants based in Northern Ireland. The scheme's rules do not prevent compensation being paid to claimants in Northern Ireland in respect of incidents that occurred outside Northern Ireland. Records of individual claims paid are not available to Her Majesty's Government but further details are available from the scheme at: Financial Services Compensation Scheme, 7th Floor, Lloyds Chambers, 1 Portsoken Street, London El 8BN.