Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of imposing on financial services firms a general duty of care towards their consumers.

The Government is committed to ensuring that consumers of financial services are appropriately protected whilst preserving the competitiveness of the UK financial services sector.

The Financial Services Act 2021 required the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to consult on whether it should make rules giving regulated financial service providers a duty of care over their customers. This was in response to concerns from Parliamentarians, who wanted to reduce levels of consumer harm in financial services.

Following extensive engagement with stakeholders, the FCA published a final Policy Statement on 27 July 2022 on its new Consumer Duty. The Consumer Duty will clarify and raise expectations for the standard of care that should be provided by financial services firms to consumers, and ensure consumers benefit from a higher level of care from financial services firms.

The FCA, as an operationally independent regulator, is responsible for implementing and enforcing its Consumer Duty rules. It would not be appropriate for the government to comment on the specific rules introduced by the FCA.