Dan Byles MP Speaks Up for Equitable Life Policyholders In Parliament

In the the House of Commons yesterday, local MP Dan Byles spoke in the debate on compensation payments for Equitable Life policyholders.

 DAN SPEAKS UP FOR POLICYHOLDERS

Dan made the point to the Minister that if the final compensation levels are insufficient; it could lead to a loss of confidence in private pension provision which would in turn lead to increased long term costs for the taxpayer.

The House of Commons passed the motion yesterday which paves the way for compensation payments to be made to those who lost out when Equitable Life failed over ten years ago. The final level of compensation that each policyholder will receive has yet to be agreed, and the issue has proved highly controversial leading to angry exchanges in the House of Commons.

Speaking after the debate, Dan said:

“I believe it is a scandal that the Equitable Life policyholders have been waiting for so long before Parliament has finally passed a measure paving the way for compensation payments to be made.

LABOUR'S DECADE OF FAILURE

“Labour had 13 years in which they did nothing but dodge the issue and try to impede the Parliamentary Ombudsman in her investigation into this.

“So I am delighted that in just four months, the Coalition Government has gripped this issue and we are moving forward at last.

“The next big question is what the level of compensation will actually be, and as things stand we have widely different recommendations from different sources. That’s why the debate yesterday was so important, and like many MPs during the debate I made it clear that I want to see an adequate compensation package put in place.”