Media and Public Affairs Updates

Media

January has seen the publication of the latest quarterly lending stats, highlighting that the sector surpassed £2bn in a calendar year for the first time. Total lending in the last three months of 2016 amounted to £670m, a 51% year-on-year increase, helping to push the Council to £2.15bn in a landmark year. Notable media coverage included Sunday Times, Spectator and FT Adviser. The Council is continuing to work with its PR agency, Instinctif Partners, to expand its data reporting for 2017 to provide greater insight on market activity through the quarterly statistics and bi-annual Market Report.

Public Affairs

Consultations

• The FCA is consulting on its future mission (deadline 26^th January), with the intent of creating a set of guiding principles to explain how it pursues its statutory objectives, decides on its priorities and the tools used to deliver these. The consultation addresses consumer responsibility and vulnerability; the FCA’s role in encouraging change and innovation in its regulated industries; how to identify and deal with harm; and the relationship between regulation and public policy. We are currently preparing a response and would welcome any comments ASAP.

• HM Treasury is currently consulting on creating a single public financial guidance body(deadline 13^th February). This follows the announcement in October that a single body would be created rather than separate bodies to deal with pensions guidance and wider money guidance. The consultation document specifies that the new body will not be launched before autumn 2018, until which point the Money Advice Service, Pensions Advisory Service and Pension Wise will continue with their current functions.

We will continue to make the argument that pensions advice needs to be wide ranging and take into account the potential role of housing wealth in retirement planning. We have produced a briefing on this consultation for members and are seeking input by 3^rd February.

• Our Public Affairs Agency, The Whitehouse Consultancy, is currently working on a submission to the Treasury Select Committee’s inquiry on EU exit and transitional arrangements (deadline 31^stJanuary). This will be another opportunity to raise our concerns about the impact of Solvency II on the equity release market. We are working with the Solvency II working group on a submission to this inquiry.

Other key public affairs activities 

• We have confirmed meetings for January with the Shadow Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Jonathan Reynolds, the Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, John Healey and the Shadow Pensions Minister, Alex Cunningham. These meetings will be an opportunity to introduce The Council’s work to influential opposition MPs and gain their support for future parliamentary activity on its behalf.

• We continued to follow up on our request to present oral evidence to the Treasury Select Committee’s inquiry into Solvency II, supported by The Council’s positive meeting with committee member George Kerevan MP on 7^th December.

• We have responded to a number of consultations over the last few months, including the FCA’s consultation on introducing a standalone equity release qualification; the FCA’s Mortgage Market Study; and HM Treasury’s consultation on amending the definition of financial advice.