Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people affected by the Equitable Life scandal who are yet to be traced.

In 2010 the coalition government chose to allocate up to £1.5 billion to the Equitable Life Payment Scheme. Before it ceased operations in 2016, the Scheme had issued £1.12 billion in tax-free payments to nearly 933,000 policyholders.

As the Scheme has been fully wound down and closed since 2016, it is no longer possible to make a claim. The only remaining part of the Payment Scheme in operation is the annual payments made to eligible With-Profit-Annuitants.

There are no plans to reopen any decisions relating to the Payment Scheme or review the £1.5 billion funding allocation previously made to it. Further guidance on the status of the Payment Scheme after closure is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equitable-life-payment-scheme#closure-of-the-scheme.