Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will commission a statutory public inquiry into a) the collapse of Hartley Pension Scheme and b) the role of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme following the collapse.

Customers affected by the administration of Hartley Pensions have suffered from unacceptable difficulties and delays.

The government wants to see the administration make progress, which is why HM Treasury officials continue to engage with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and others to support this wherever possible.

While the FCA does not have legal powers to direct the Joint Administrators’ work, it has provided advice and challenge where appropriate.

More broadly, the government keeps the regulatory framework for self-invested personal pensions (SIPP) operators under review, including in light of lessons learned from recent cases.

On the role of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), it is operationally independent of the financial services regulators and determines compensation in accordance with its rules.

The FSCS has provided funding to the Joint Administrators of Hartley Pensions to implement their exit strategy on behalf of customers, supporting the transfer of their pensions to other providers. Without this intervention, the costs of progressing the administration would have fallen to SIPP members, compounding the difficulties and uncertainties they have already experienced.