Business of the House Debate

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Department: Leader of the House

Business of the House

Nick Smith Excerpts
Thursday 13th July 2023

(10 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Penny Mordaunt Portrait Penny Mordaunt
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I thank the hon. Gentleman for that question. The relevant Department will not be available for a questions session until the autumn, so I will make sure that the Cabinet Office has heard his concerns. Of course, when we are dealing with cases for our constituents on such matters, technical advice and support is available. If the hon. Gentleman has any issues accessing that, he should please let me know, and I will be happy to assist.

Nick Smith Portrait Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)
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A Blaenau Gwent constituent has been ripped off by the funeral planning company Safe Hands, and it looks like the Financial Conduct Authority and the Treasury have been slow to act. I wrote to the FCA in January, but got a reply only yesterday after five and a half months, so while an investigation is in hand, that was a very poor response. Can we please have a Government statement? Thousands of people across the UK look to have been badly let down.

Penny Mordaunt Portrait Penny Mordaunt
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The hon. Gentleman has raised a very concerning issue. I do not know whether he has raised it with the Ministry of Justice, which I think is the lead Department for that sector; if not, I would encourage him to do so. The next Justice questions are not until the autumn, so if the hon. Gentleman will give me some further details about the case, I will write to see whether we can do anything to get it resolved. It is a serious matter and, given the nature of what people are dealing with, a very unfortunate one.