In a new report, the UK’s Treasury Select Committee has concluded that the desirability of developing generic financial advice services is not in doubt and recommended that the treasury be tasked with taking this forward.
The report follows the publication earlier this year of the Resolution Foundation’s proposals to establish a national advice resource to provide impartial, generic financial advice to people on low to moderate incomes.
The proposals also recently received ministerial backing. In a recent speech, treasury minister, Ed Balls, stated that a more comprehensive and preventative approach to financial advice would be a key theme in the government’s forthcoming 10-year strategy on financial capability.
The Treasury Select Committee’s report is a further illustration of the consensus emerging around the need for a national financial advice resource, commented Sue Regan, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation. As the Select Committee have found in their investigations, this is in the interest of individuals, government and the financial services industry.
