FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Hartley Pensioners Call on MPs to Investigate £40 Million of Public Funding and Years of Regulatory Failures Parliamentary briefing urges support for Early Day Motion 506 A group of Hartley Pension members has today written to Members of Parliament urging them to support Early Day Motion 506 and to press for Parliamentary scrutiny of the Hartley Pensions administration, following the Financial Conduct Authority's recent enforcement action against former Hartley directors. The group has circulated a four-page briefing summarising issues that have emerged during ongoing High Court proceedings. edm.parliament.uk/early-day-… The briefing argues that the case has grown far beyond the collapse of a single pension provider. It raises questions about the conduct of insolvency practitioners, the stewardship of approximately £40 million of Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) funding, regulatory oversight, and the handling of thousands of pension members' retirement savings. Among the issues highlighted are evidence presented in court concerning approximately £37 million of unauthorised movements of pension cash affecting more than 1,300 pension members, together with evidence that approximately £836 million of pension assets had not been fully reconciled before Hartley entered administration. The briefing also points to continuing uncertainty affecting thousands of pension members who remain unable to transfer or access investments held within their SIPPs. The document also highlights allegations made in related High Court proceedings concerning the conduct of certain insolvency office-holders and the management of witness evidence. Those allegations remain matters before the courts. The briefing contends that, if established, they would raise wider questions about confidence in insolvency regulation and the administration of justice. The briefing further questions why the FSCS reversed its position within weeks, moving from refusing to fund the administration in December 2023 to approving approximately £40 million of funding in January 2024. It also asks whether sufficient Parliamentary oversight exists where substantial public funds are committed while interconnected insolvency administrations and complex forensic investigations continue. Simon Nuttall, speaking on behalf of affected pension members, said: “Thousands of Hartley pension members have now lived with uncertainty for several years. Many remain unable to access or transfer their retirement savings while litigation, regulatory action and insolvency proceedings continue." “Our briefing does not ask Parliament to interfere with ongoing court proceedings. It asks MPs to examine whether wider questions of public policy, regulatory oversight and the use of public funds now warrant independent Parliamentary scrutiny." “This is about restoring confidence that the systems designed to protect pension savers are operating effectively and transparently.” The group is encouraging affected pension members across the United Kingdom to send the briefing to their constituency MPs and ask them to support Early Day Motion 506, which calls for Parliamentary scrutiny of the Hartley Pensions administration and the wider issues arising from it. Media enquiries Simon Nuttall Email: [email protected]