Reading West MP Martin Salter has called on Treasury Minister Yvette Cooper to establish a hardship fund for those hit the most severely by the collapse of Equitable Life.

Welcoming the apology Ms Cooper made on behalf of “the public bodies and successive governments responsible for the regulation of Equitable Life between 1990 and 2001″, Mr Salter said that he remained concerned that there was no promise of immediate redress for policy holders and the proposed ex-gratia payment scheme that was announced in the House of Commons last week could take a further two and a half years before it begins to pay out to policy holders.

In a letter to Yvette Cooper, Martin Salter said:-

“My constituents have waited eight years and seen two damning reports published into Equitable Life by Lord Penrose in 2004 and the Parliamentary Ombudsman last July. In August I wrote to the Chancellor pressing for compensation to be paid following Ombudsman’s report. You will also be aware that in the intervening period a number of policy holders have died.”

Stressing that the situation “simply isn’t good enough,” he emphasised the impact of the credit crunch on savers and called on the Treasury to release funds to the hardest hit with immediate effect:

“I am concerned at the prospect of further delays whilst Sir John Chadwick completes his work. I am therefore calling for you to set up a scheme to pay compensation now from an immediate hardship fund in order to deal with the worst cases. The Credit Crunch has made things tough for many people but it is doubly hard for many of the Equitable Life savers and they have waited long enough.”

Martin Salter has campaigned for several years on Equitable Life and previously signed a Commons Motion calling on the Government to implement the findings of the Ombudsman immediately in order that pensioners can face the future with greater confidence.