Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals for a duty of care in relation to the Financial Guidance and Claims Act 2018.

The government believes that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as the UK’s independent conduct regulator for the financial services industry, is best placed to lead the discussion on the merits of a duty of care for financial services providers.

The FCA have committed to issuing a Discussion Paper on a duty of care later this year. The Paper will invite contributions from all interested parties on the case for and against a duty of care, what form such a provision might take, and consequential issues arising from adopting it. This will be an open process designed to gather views.

In this context, the government welcomes the FCA’s continued commitment to this debate, and we do not think a legislative change would be appropriate at this time.