24 March 2009
The Parliamentary Ombudsman is to submit another (short) report
on the Equitable Life affair.
The Parliamentary Ombudsman has powers under the Parliamentary
Commissioner Act 1967 to submit a further report where her office
feels that an injustice will not be remedied. This will be only the
fifth time in more than 40 years that such a report has been
filed.
Ms Abrahams expects to submit her latest report after the Easter
recess.
Many investigations have been held in the last decade on the
insurance mutual. The 2,800 odd page report by Ms Abraham was seen
by many as the best chance of compensation for policyholders.
In January, the Treasury published its response, accepting five
findings of maladministration in full, four in part and rejecting
one. The government appointed retired judge Sir John Chadwick to
advise on who should receive any ex-gratia payments.
A Treasury spokesman confirmed that plans to create a timetable
had been initially proposed but later scrapped. He said: "Ministers
rejected proposals for a June 2010 deadline that was in an early
draft of the document because they wanted to make progress more
quickly.
"While it is clear that the process may take some time, Sir John
has been asked to report back as soon as possible and to provide
interim reports as his work progresses."
A spokesman for Equitable said: "We would welcome any steps to
advance payments to our policyholders."
A copy of Ms Abrahams' letter can be viewed here:
Parliamentary Ombudsman Letter
