UK Parliament Treasury Committee calls for a statutory veto on appointing or dismissing the Financial Ombudsman Service Chair

The UK Parliament’s Treasury Committee Chair has written to the Economic Secretary to the Treasury urging the Government to legislate for a statutory lock requiring the Committee’s consent to appoint or dismiss the Chair of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), arguing this is necessary to protect the FOS’s actual and perceived independence in resolving consumer complaints against financial firms. The letter frames the statutory lock as mirroring the Budget Responsibility and National Audit Act 2011, under which the Committee can veto the appointment or dismissal of members of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s Budget Responsibility Committee, including its Chair. It follows the Treasury’s consultation response to its Financial Services Sector Strategy review of the FOS, which states the government will legislate to make the FOS Chair a government appointment to align with other significant financial services appointments, including the Chair and Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Conduct Authority, and to support oversight and accountability. Dame Meg Hillier also questions why making the FOS Chair a government appointment was not an option included in the recent consultation and asks whether the approach will be used to recruit roles currently held by an interim leadership team. The Committee is due to question the interim leadership of the Financial Ombudsman Service at 14:15.