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Equitable Life

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point about the timetable. My right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr. Cameron) said last month:""If we win the election, we're going to sort out Equitable Life very early on."" That is a clear commitment to make rapid progress on this issue. The other aspect is that Sir John Chadwick is advising the Government, who are in a position to take on board the concerns that have been expressed about the way in which the Chadwick process will reach a final conclusion. It is important that the Government listen to those concerns. There is a demand, which has been voiced very clearly in today's debate, for a clear timetable from the Government. We have to ask ourselves what the Government did last year to establish a clear timetable for payments. Has any work been done by the Government on how they might make payments to policyholders, or to determine how long it might take to make such payments? If it has, the Treasury should be in a position to set out an indicative timetable. If the Chief Secretary tells us that no work has been done along those lines, policyholders will have to wait even longer for certainty as the Government work through the mechanics of compensation. But this failure to be up front with policyholders about a timetable is a reminder that throughout this process, the Government have sought to avoid responsibility and tried to delay resolving the problems for as long as possible. If the Government had responded to the ombudsman's report more quickly, policyholders would have known by now what the outcome would be. Our response has been clear. We accepted the ombudsman's findings at the outset, and we said that if the Government did not put a scheme in place, we would. I reiterate the comment of my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney last month, when he said;""If we win the election, we're going to sort out Equitable Life very early on."" That is the right approach. The Government's actions have delayed justice for far too long. If we form the next Government, Equitable's policyholders have the commitment that we will sort out the mess that the present Government have left behind. We need to act quickly not only to help Equitable's policyholders, but to restore confidence in savings. The long drawn-out process for dealing with Equitable Life has helped to erode such confidence. The message that people hear is that the regulator failed and the Government have sought to wriggle out of their responsibility to Equitable's policyholders. It is no wonder that five times as many people prefer to save for the long term by putting their money into their house, rather than into investments. We are not going to rebuild the savings culture in the UK and put the economy back on the right track until people are confident that the regulators are doing their job and the safeguards that are in place to protect consumers work when they are needed. The Government's failure to deal with the aftermath of Equitable Life has undermined confidence in savings. Equitable Life has been a tragedy for many thousands of policyholders who have been condemned to hardship through a cut in policy values, let down by the regulators and failed by this Government. At every step of the way, rather than doing the right thing by policyholders, the Government and the Prime Minister have tried to evade responsibility. They have tried to deny policyholders the second ombudsman's inquiry and tried to frustrate that inquiry. Now, 18 months after the ombudsman has reported, policyholders are no closer to knowing when they will receive compensation. A problem that could have been resolved after Lord Penrose had highlighted the regulatory failings in 2004 remains unresolved six years later because the Government failed to act. The Government's handling of Equitable Life has caused misery to hundreds of thousands of people, and financial hardship to people who should be enjoying their retirement. The Government should be ashamed of themselves. The Government amendment today is no damascene conversion. It is a cynical attempt to fool Equitable's policyholders in the weeks running up to the election. They are treating policyholders like fools and it is our responsibility to stand up for them, clear up the mess that the Government will leave behind, and ensure that after their long fight, Equitable's policyholders receive the justice that they have been denied for so long.