Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to ensure (i) people can access Disabled Person’s Trust accounts from high street banks and (ii) public bodies are using powers to ensure access for families of disabled people to those accounts.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone can access appropriate financial services and products, which is vital for financial resilience and wellbeing and ensuring that individuals are able to fully participate in the economy.

The provision of services such as trust accounts is a commercial decision for individual banks and building societies, and the Government does not intervene in these decisions.

Under the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Consumer Duty, firms must consider the impact of withdrawing a product and take steps to mitigate harm. However, the FCA cannot compel firms to offer specific products.

The FCA is currently engaging with industry and stakeholders to explore issues around the provision of trust accounts for disabled people, and the Government supports this work.