Tories free financial advice to cost industry £50m a year
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The Conservatives say their free national financial advice service would cost the industry £50m per year.
The Tories put forward their proposal for a free advice service yesterday as part of their economic manifesto proposals.
A Conservative spokeswoman says the service would offer consumers impartial advice on money matters via face-to-face sessions, telephone advice and online advice.
The spokeswoman says the service is about encouraging people to seek further advice and IFAs would have a role to play in the process.
She said: “It is about encouraging a culture where people do proactively seek financial advice. We think this would work quite well alongside IFA advice.”
Funding for the £50m-a-year service will come from a new “social responsibility levy” on the financial services sector.
The Government is committed to launching a Money Guidance service by 2011 with a £20m roll-out cost. This would be shared between industry and the Government with the Government ear-marking money received through reclaiming dormant accounts to help fund the project.
The Tories economic proposals, called A New Economic Model, set out eight benchmarks by which Shadow Chancellor George Osborne (pictured) wishes people to judge a future Conservative government.
A future Conservative Government would scrap forced annuitisation, raise the stamp-duty threshold to £250,000 and raise the IHT threshold to £1m.
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Readers' comments (51)
paolo standerwick | 3 Feb 2010 4:20 pm
I already give free financial advice without a client to commit to a deal. What's new?
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Richard Smith | 3 Feb 2010 4:23 pm
Fantastic, now we have the Tories wanting to compete with the FSA in order to make sure that everyone is treated equally and gets acccess to Financial Advice. Great and a worthy cause. However why should we have to pay for it.
Happy Days' Eh!
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Anonymous | 3 Feb 2010 4:24 pm
All I can say is 'you get what you pay for'.
Is the government going to pay for the qualifications needed?.
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Alan Lakey | 3 Feb 2010 4:25 pm
A social responsibility levy?
Beneath contempt
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Derek Frost | 3 Feb 2010 4:33 pm
Just how would "IFAs would have a role to play in the process"?
Perhaps they're thinking of exhuming the 'pro-bono' CAB sessions?
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Anonymous | 3 Feb 2010 4:35 pm
Paid for by a new 'social responsibility levy' on the financial services sector? In other words another tax on an already beleagured industry.
The industry is going to pay for advice to people who don't want to pay for advice? Isn't that admitting that the FSA stance on forcing advisers down the fee route is flawed?
Maybe advisers will flood to work for this scheme and will be happy to be paid at the rate that the FSA reckons we should be paid...£10 per hour!
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Anonymous | 3 Feb 2010 4:35 pm
So the 'Industry' is going to be invited to contribute to a 'new' social responsibilty levy.
This will run along side the existing FSA levy which is a kind of social responsibilty fund as well - it pays for the 'homeless' FSA employees to be put up in hotels for up to £400 per night !!
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Anonymous | 3 Feb 2010 4:36 pm
Are Doctors going to pay for the NHS out of their profits and Teachers for education out from their salaries - oh no I forget their all 'civil servants' on fat final salaries
Based upon Maggie's advice to take personal pensions and the sort of service the benefits advisers at the DWP hand out - god help the general public!
They couldn't organise a drink in a brewery, never mind the ability to get tipsy!
They're all as bad as each other!
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Anonymous | 3 Feb 2010 4:40 pm
How can you use "beleaguered" to describe the financial services industry"? It's awash with money - look at the hospitality afforded to IFAs by the providers - other peoples money being skimmed off year after year for very little added value (if any).
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Tony Silver | 3 Feb 2010 4:46 pm
So the Conservatives now realise that the public refuse to pay for advice, however the FSA want us to charge fees?
Sorry, but I don't work for nothing and neither should we be expected to. If Mr Osbourne wants to hand out free advice he can be my guest.
As for the other lot and our esteemed regulator - they don't have a Scooby between them!
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