Transparency data
HMTGovernment Major Project Portfolio data, September 2013
Updated 23 May 2014
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| Project name | Equitable Life Payment Scheme |
|---|---|
| Department | HMT |
| MPA RAG rating (A Delivery Confidence Assessment of the project at a fixed point in time, using a five-point scale, Red – Amber/Red – Amber – Amber/Green – Green; definitions in the MPA Annual Report) | Amber |
| Description / Aims | In May 2010 the coalition Government pledged to “implement the Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman’s recommendation to make fair and transparent payments to Equitable Life policy holders, through an independent payment scheme, for their relative loss as a consequence of regulatory failure.” The Equitable Life Payment Scheme was set up as quickly as possible, so that those who had suffered losses as a result of maladministration were finally able to receive redress. The Government’s stated ambition for payments to begin by the end of June 2011 was met. Payment volumes started to ramp up in November 2011 and the Scheme moved to full operation in 2012. By September 2013 the Scheme had made payments to the value of c£734 million to c548,000 policyholders. |
| Departmental commentary on actions planned or taken on the MPA RAG rating. | From October to November 2013 a programme of press advertising invited policyholders who had not been contacted by the Scheme and who thought they might be eligible, to contact the Scheme. This purpose of this campaign was to aid the tracing of those policyholders for whom the Scheme had no address data or where there had been no response to mail sent to them. It proved successful in that significant numbers of these policyholders contacted the Scheme and subsequently received payment. Since then additional methods have been identified for tracing policyholders and these have proved successful in increasing the numbers the Scheme has been able to find and pay. |
| Project - Start Date (Latest approved start date) | 01/05/2010 |
| Project - End Date (Latest approved end date) | 01/07/2014 |
| Departmental narrative on schedule, including any deviation from planned schedule (if necessary) | In October 2013 the Treasury announced the Chancellor’s decision to extend the timing of the closure of the Scheme. The Scheme will now remain open until 2015. The emphasis on delivering payments has remained unchanged and everything has been done to maintain the momentum to deliver as many payments as possible by the end of March 2014. |
| 2013/2014 Budget (£million) | 0 |
| 2013/2014 Forecast (£million) | 0 |
| 2013/2014 Variance (£million) | 0 |
| 2013/2014 Variance %age | 0.00% |
| Total budgeted whole life costs (£million) (including non-government costs) | 0 |
| Departmental narrative on budget/forecast variance for 2013/14 (if variance is more than 5%) | The ELPS programme budget is in AME and therefore there are no figures recorded above. However, original budgeted costs were £57.6m. The forecast outturn in September 2013 was £58.3m, less than 2% over the original budget. Opportunities for efficiencies and savings were identified, as well as an audit of the charging and invoicing process, and the forecast in March 2014 (excluding the cost of the Scheme extension) is £57.8m. |
| Departmental narrative on budgeted whole life costs | No departmental narrative |