The boss of National Savings and Investments has been sacked over a multi-million pound savings scandal.
Dax Harkins was informed of his dismissal from the company this morning in a meeting with treasury officials, it is understood.
Former HMRC boss Sir Jim Harra will replace Mr Harkins as the chief executive of NS&I on an interim basis to ‘provide a fresh start’, pensions minister Torsten Bell announced.
He told the Commons: ‘I also want to make sure NS&I has the very best leadership in place. Effective from today, I have appointed Sir Jim Harra, former HMRC first permanent secretary, to take over as the chief executive of NS&I on an interim basis, to provide a fresh start for NS&I’s next phase of development.
‘I recognise his predecessor, Dax Harkins, 22 years’ of public service at NS&I.
‘As well as providing leadership to the organisation, Sir Jim will undertake a review over the next three months to spell out in detail the background to this tracing problem and to set out what lessons must be learned for NS&I going forward.
‘I have discussed this with Sir Jim and I’m confident that his extensive experience will help guide NS&I in the months ahead, and I will ensure Sir Jim’s review is shared with the chairs of the Treasury and the Public Accounts committees upon completion.’
NS&I did not respond fully to previous warning signs, pensions minister Torsten Bell told the Commons.
Dax Harkins was informed of his dismissal from National Savings and Investments this morning in a meeting with treasury officials
In a statement, Mr Bell, who also sits in the Treasury, said: ‘The FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) took enforcement action in 2018 against Santander relating to the tracing of accounts following notification that a customer had passed on. This received significant attention at the time.
‘However, what is now clear is that NS&I and its suppliers did not respond to those warning signs as fully as I and, more importantly, their customers would expect. Nor did the last government act.
‘Bereaved families whose loved ones held accounts with NS&I will rightly be anxious about this news.’
The causes of a tracing issue which affected NS&I customers has ‘been addressed and will not affect customers going forward’, Torsten Bell said.
The pensions minister also told the Commons that ‘this issue is about tracing, not the security of any funds’ held by NS&I, adding that ‘savings are 100% safe’.
NS&I is responsible for reuniting beneficiaries with the money they are due, the pensions minister told MPs, adding ‘there is no need for individuals to waste money on a claims management company or solicitor’.
Torsten Bell told the Commons: ‘NS&I has put in place a dedicated programme team and it’s hired an additional 100 staff.
‘I have asked them to publish a delivery plan in May detailing how they will take forward this work to reunite funds with their owners.
‘This will cover the number of cases affected, how NS&I will proactively contact representatives of estates to ensure they receive the funds they are due, including interest on savings, and the compensation that, where appropriate, will be paid.
‘There is no need for individuals to waste money on a claims management company or solicitor.
‘I want to reassure people that the onus is not on them but on NS&I to act, to contact estate representatives and to reconnect beneficiaries with the money they are due.’
