I hear what my noble friend is saying. I hope he read in Hansard what I set out in detail on day 2 of Committee and what I wrote to all noble Lords. I commit here to spend more time between Committee and Report trying to persuade noble Lords of the reasons why we feel it right to stick with the current terminology regarding the difference between debt advice and guidance, not least because this is already set out in regulations, at the FCA and so on. We are very keen to avoid confusion or duplication. We also very much take on board the experience and expertise we have heard from those who have given this guidance and debt advice for more than 30 years. They said they had never had a problem with this. However, I hear what my noble friend said and can see that I must do more to persuade some, though not all, noble Lords—there is great support for what the Government are trying to do. I can only stress the number of consultations we had prior to introducing the Bill to ensure that we are doing the right thing to the best of our ability, particularly in our focus on the consumer.
Most people who access debt advice have lived with debt problems for more than a year before doing so. They may be facing up to something they have avoided for a long time. They seek help because they do not know what to do. They turn to services such as the Money Advice Trust, Citizens Advice and StepChange, which are all MAS delivery partners, for urgent help with getting out of their immediate crisis. Although there is a clear difference between debt advice and the advice given by independent financial advisers to those lucky enough to have some extra money to pay for it, the advice given by debt advice is still regulated by the FCA.
Debt advisers help people identify the steps they need to take, recommend a course of action, represent people at court facing repossession and, crucially, build their clients’ confidence to deal with their creditors themselves. Under FCA rules, these excellent advisers are required to make it clear that they are giving a customer regulated advice. These individuals need help to work through their problems. They want advice on how to get out of the situation. The labels we use to describe the service on offer must reflect the way these customers use and understand the service. For these reasons, I maintain that debt advice is the most appropriate term to use.
Amendment 53, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord McKenzie, would require that the standards include measures of outcomes for members of the public as well as measures of outputs for the body and its delivery partners. The noble Lord raises an important issue but I do not agree that attaching this requirement to the standards is the right approach. I reassure the noble Lord that assessing the body’s success in improving the ability of members of the public to make informed financial decisions will be very important for both Her Majesty’s Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions.
The Committee discussed during debate on Clause 1 the business planning process for the single financial guidance body. Part of that process will be for the body to agree a range of key performance indicators with Her Majesty’s Treasury and the DWP. These will be set out in the body’s corporate strategy and business plans. The corporate strategy and business plans will be published, and will include how the indicators will be measured. It is too soon to set out exactly what the performance indicators will be for the body but, as an example, Pension Wise is testing its customers’ knowledge of the pensions freedoms and comparing it with that of a group of non-users of its service. This research seeks to ascertain what difference Pension Wise is making to people’s understanding of their options under the pension freedoms. This evaluation is also recording customers’ intentions shortly after their Pension Wise appointment and any actions they have taken about three months after their appointment.
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The body will be about equipping people with the knowledge they need to make better-informed decisions, and ultimately to improve their financial well-being. As a result, measuring the performance of the body to ensure it delivers improved outcomes for members of the public will be essential. The Government will be accountable to Parliament for the impact of the body; designing the right set of indicators is therefore crucial. My belief is that this should be done by the people who will be responsible for running the body, in conjunction with government and, of course, drawing on evidence from stakeholders.
Effectively measuring the outcomes for customers of its activities will be crucial to the new body. It will be essential for it to be able to demonstrate that it has, in exercising its functions, delivered against its objective to improve people’s ability to make informed financial decisions. The body will report on the body’s activities,
including an assessment of its progress towards meeting its performance indicators in its annual report. The annual report will be published, as noble Lords will know, and the Secretary of State must lay it before Parliament.
Finally, Amendment 56, tabled by the noble Earl, Lord Kinnoull, would require the body to,
“provide reasonable assistance in the interpretation of”,
the standards to its delivery partners. This is a perfectly reasonable suggestion. However, I hope he will agree that it is not necessary to set this out in legislation because we expect the body to have a strong, collaborative relationship with its delivery partners, large and small, offering help and support as required. It is, after all, in the body’s best interest to ensure that delivery partners understand the expectation it has for the standards of delivery.
We have to keep bearing in mind that the FCA has a statutory objective to protect its consumers. Its work to protect consumers covers a wide range of activities. The FCA acts to ensure that a firm has its customers at the heart of how it does business, giving them appropriate products and services and putting their protection above profits or remuneration.
In building and maintaining these relationships, we would expect the single financial guidance body to build on the good practice followed by the existing service providers. For example, MAS regularly meets delivery partners to discuss expectations and requirements, including encouraging them to respond to upcoming consultations or helping them with research and evaluation design. These discussions happen within a formal performance review framework, which involves quarterly reviews that cover detailed discussion on strategy, service delivery, quality and compliance. Monitoring the quality of the service to the public, whoever provides it, will be part of a continuous good governance activity for the body, which will monitor compliance with the standards to manage risks and address any problems as they arise. This will of necessity include ensuring that delivery partners have a clear understanding of what the standards mean in practice. It will be in the interests of the body to ensure that delivery partners understand what is required of them, and to provide help and support where necessary.
In conclusion, this has been an important debate, scrutinising the crucial issue of the standards for the services provided or commissioned by the single financial guidance body. I hope to have convinced the Committee that the outcomes sought by tabling these amendments are largely already achieved through other mechanisms. I very much take on board that two words the noble Earl, Lord Kinnoull, referenced—“friendly” and “helpful”—are a really important part of the process. I urge noble Lords to withdraw or not press their amendments on the basis of my explanations.