So Who Will Pay For The Equitable Life Mistakes?
As the Equitable Life debacle continues to gather pace it seems as though Alistair Darling is doing his best to kick the issue into the political long grass for another time. Not one single member of the government has formally commented on the recent report which called on the government to compensate victims to the tune of £4 billion.
The thorough investigation into the incident by the Parliamentary Ombudsman has noted serious failings with Regulators and the Government which made a bad situation worse. The whole episode was allowed to drag on for two long without the intervention of the authorities and by the time they became involved it was too late. However, who will pay the compensation?
The government is already making subtle noises suggesting that there is literally nothing left in the public purse for any form of compensation, the main reason why the Chancellor has suggested he will respond to the report in the autumn. The 10p tax problem, the delay on implementing the 2p fuel tax rise and the ongoing compensation issue regarding final salary schemes has literally bled the government dry.
When the government starts to plead hard up then we do all need to be afraid, be very afraid!
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