Paying for financial advice: whose job is it?

Buried in the Queen’s Speech this week was an unassuming little sentence that could transform our collective ability to deal with the ruthless financial services industry – but don’t hold your breath.

The Government signalled that it is bracing itself to take on the challenge that has defied all of its predecessors – to produce a widely accessible, State-backed source of financial advice.

The Queen said: ‘A new money guidance body would replace the Money Advice Service and be charged with identifying gaps in the financial guidance market to make sure consumers can access high-quality debt and money guidance.’

Details so far are sketchy, suggesting that the new scheme has not yet been fully fashioned. In the absence of a thoroughly worked-out road map, Her Majesty’s outline begged as many questions as it answered.

If a new body is to take over from the five-year-old Money Advice Service (MAS), it will presumably be different or the exercise is pointless.