Oliver Bennett

Many people have been given unsuitable financial advice to transfer their valuable Defined Benefit pensions into less suitable and secure Defined Contribution schemes. Poor advice has led to growing compensation payments from the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Some have speculated that this issue may represent a large mis-selling scandal, the full scale of which may only come to light in the event of an economic downturn.

High-cost credit covers a range of financial products including bank overdrafts, loans, buy-now-pay-later and rent-to-own. Each product has its own benefits to consumers, but they also carry a risk of consumer harm, especially for vulnerable customers. This harm may include high repayment costs and a greater risk of problem debt. The regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, has been taking action to reduce this harm and it has ongoing monitoring work in this area. This briefing describes the action that has been taken over recent years to stop unfair high-cost credit practices and gives information on the support available to those who find themselves in problem debt.

The Financial Services Bill 2019-20 was announced in the Queen’s Speech on 19 December 2019. No date is yet available for second reading.

The number of bank branches in the UK roughly halved from 1986 to 2014 and closures are expected to continue. Concerns have been raised about the impacts on vulnerable people, small businesses and the viability of the cash system. While measures are in place to reduce the impact of branch closures, a number of parliamentary committees have concluded that more needs to be done.

MPs are often asked for help with personal finance issues. These can cover a wide variety of subjects, from difficulties opening a bank account to concerns about mortgage rates. This briefing sets out practical information to help you respond to common personal finance questions. It does not give the full policy background on each point. There are links to relevant documents throughout this briefing that provide more detail.

From September 2019, people shopping or banking online may face new checks in order to prevent fraud.

This briefing answers frequently asked questions about banking scams, and describes: the scale of the problem; the types of scam; what help is available for victims; and, government and industry action.

This paper shows that while HS2 will deliver significant capacity and connectivity improvements, there are alternatives available that could deal with the capacity constraints on the West Coast Main Line at a lower cost. This paper also shows that there is still uncertainty around the costs of HS2. The estimates at the time of the 2015 Spending Review put the cost at around £65 billion (in 2015 prices). The ambitions of HS2 Ltd are to reduce the costs of the infrastructure for Phase 2b by around 40% from the 2015 Spending Review estimate.

A Backbench Business debate on a Motion on The Contribution of Cooperatives and Mutuals to the Economy is scheduled in the Chamber on Thursday 27 June 2019. The debate is sponsored by Gareth Thomas MP

A debate on a Motion on Mortgage Prisoners and Vulture Funds has been scheduled for Thursday 6 June 2019. The debate has been initiated by Charlie Elphicke MP

A Westminster Hall debate on 'Financial exclusion and the future of access to cash' has been scheduled for Tuesday 21 May 2019 from 9.30-11.00am. The debate has been initiated by Seema Malhotra MP.

The establishment of the Flood Re scheme by the Water Act and subsequent Regulations. This briefing is no longer being updated.

This Commons Library briefing paper examines the use of microplastics and microbeads and plans to ban their use in the UK. It also discusses their possible impacts on the environment and human health.