I commend Macmillan Cancer Support for its work in raising awareness of the financial burdens that cancer sufferers have to shoulder. Indeed, I appreciate the importance of ensuring that cancer sufferers, and vulnerable people more widely, are treated fairly by financial service providers.
As you may be aware, the independent Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulates the activities of financial services firms. The FCA has a code of conduct to which firms must adhere when interacting with customers. The principles of business outlined in the FCA's handbook are wide ranging, and include that firms must treat customers fairly and act in their best interests. The FCA is confident it has the necessary range of tools at its disposal to enforce its customer protection objectives.
I understand that Macmillan has a strong working relationship with the FCA. You will be pleased to hear that the FCA has recently developed a discussion paper to explore the feasibility of implementing a legal duty of care. Implementing such a policy would represent a significant regulatory change, and the FCA has sought the view of firms and consumer groups, and invited interested individuals and organisations to contribute their views. I look forward to seeing the paper's conclusions, which will be made available soon.
I hope this information has provided some measure of reassurance.
