Written question asked by Harry Cohen (Labour) on Monday, 23 January 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 25 January 2006. It was answered by Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour) on Thursday, 26 January 2006 on behalf of the Treasury.

Long-term Savings

Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to provide long-term security and reasonable return on long-term savings invested in the private sector.

Answer: The Government have established a system of financial services regulation that works through the regulator, the Financial Services Authority, the Financial Ombudsman Service, and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme to provide statutory protection for consumers.These bodies are independent of Government, although subject to the provisions of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. They replaced a collection of multiple regulators, complaint adjudicators, and compensation schemes.Under The Pension Act 2004, the Government have also established The Pension Regulator and the Pension Protection Fund to protect the interests of members of occupational pension schemes.Returns on long-term savings invested in the private sector are for the market to determine and lie outside the Government's remit.

Secondary information