Wealth & assets

Submission: Resolution Foundation Response to HM Treasury consultation on Reforming Financial Markets

The Foundation welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Reforming Financial Markets White Paper. To reflect the focus of our work, this memorandum comments on a number of issues in chapter 8 – Supporting and Protecting Consumers – and specifically addresses consultation questions 15 to 21. 

Key findings

The key points of the response are as follows:

  • We congratulate the Government on progress on Money Guidance and suggest that, so long as the evaluation demonstrates that the service is helping consumers, then not all operational issues need to be resolved before a national roll-out proceeds next year
  • We welcome the establishment of a new consumer education and information authorityand the inclusion of consumer credit companies in funding Money Guidance via a levy. How this new levy fits with the existing FSA levy should follow clarification of the remit of the new authority
  • We suggest that there needs to be clarity over
    a) what the establishment of the new authority means for the objectives and responsibility of the FSA in relation to consumer issues and
    b) the name of the authority given its remit and in particular that it will be covering guidance and advice
  • The new authority needs to be on the side of consumer, and could act as a ‘consumer voice’, but must balance this with a positive view of the financial services industry

Further reading

Ineffective Savings Accounts
·
Molly Broome
In too deep?
The impact of the cost of living crisis on household debt
·
Felicia Odamtten, Simon Pittaway
Precautionary tales
Tackling the problem of low saving among UK households
·
Molly Broome, Ian Mulheirn, Simon Pittaway