19 March 2009
The Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) will today
publish a report into the Equitable Life affair.
Committee Chairman Tony Wright MP said:
"I give credit to the Government for apologising, for producing a
considered response, and for accepting the need for some kind of
payments scheme. But the Government has produced an essentially
political response to a quasi-judicial investigative report from
the Ombudsman, and as a result has ended up satisfying nobody. We
have never argued that the taxpayer should have bottomless pockets,
but there is a very clear case for defined compensation where the
State itself has caused injustice. The Government's arguments seem
to me to leave a gaping black hole in the way our regulators are
held accountable, and this needs addressing.
"I also know that policyholder groups are thinking about asking
for a judicial review of the Government's decision. Only they can
decide whether to take this step, but they do need to think hard
about whether it will be in the best interests of the people they
represent. As we say in our Report, a successful judicial review
could lead to a better process, but with no guarantee of a better
outcome for policyholders."
Vanni Treves, Chairman of Equitable, supported the report adding
"Parliament needs to find a way to support its Ombudsman if her
investigations are not to become pointless academic exercises."
The full statement made by PASC can
be viewed here:
UK Parliament - PASC Press Notice
