Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the Financial Services Ombudsman has adequate resources to (a) conduct thorough investigations and (b) deliver timely decisions on cases.

Under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is required to take such steps as are necessary to ensure that the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is capable of exercising its functions, including approving the FOS’s annual budget. Furthermore, the FOS is subject to statutory audit by the National Audit Office and must publish reports of determinations.

The FOS and the FCA are operationally independent of Government.