John Redwood criticises Equitable Life delays

John Redwood has expressed disappointment at the Government’s announcement that they will not be publishing their response to the Ombudsman’s report into Equitable Life until later in the New Year. During Business Questions in the House of Commons last week, the Leader of the House announced that the Government would give their response to the Ombudsman’s recommendations into how Equitable Life policyholders could be compensated in January. This is despite their previous promises that they would announce their plans “before Christmas”.

John has been following this matter with interest as he has had some Wokingham constituents contacting him over the last few years to outline how they have suffered losses at the hands of Equitable Life, and pressing for a compensation package.

In a letter to many of the constituents who have written to him about this matter, John said: “I do find these repeated delays most unsatisfactory. The Ombudsman’s report took an unprecedented four years to complete because the Treasury decided to submit 500 pages of ‘evidence’. Although the report was published in July, the Government would have seen a draft version some months earlier. Had they been so minded, they could have responded straight away, but during the summer they told us they would do so ‘in the autumn’. Meanwhile, thousands of Equitable Life policyholders are waiting anxiously to see if they will be given recompense for a regulatory failure that took place through no fault of their own”.