The UK's economic secretary to the Treasury, Stephen Barclay, has told a Parliamentary committee that a long-anticipated Government ban on pensions cold calling will be in place by 2020.

The ban was first promised by Chancellor Philip Hammond in his autumn statement for 2016, where he made it Government policy to ban firms from cold-calling consumers to ask them to cash in their pensions and make alternative investments. When the Government presented Parliament with the Financial Guidance and Claims Bill in July, however, it kept that measure out.

The House of Lords passed an amendment to the bill in favour of banning cold calling earlier this month. Speaking in front of the Parliamentary Work and Pensions Select Committee, Barclay reportedly said: "The concern with the amendment in the Lords is...it says that the single financial guidance body can bring forward an annual report. On the basis of that annual report, legislation can be brought forward. The potential flaw in that is, that means 2020."

In response to a question sent in by Julia Lopez MP (Cons Hornchurch and Upminster) early this month, Barclay replied: "The government is committed to banning pensions cold-calling. Following a consultation, the government will bring forward draft legislation for scrutiny to ban pensions cold-calling, including texts and emails, in early 2018. It will then legislate on a ban as soon as Parliamentary time allows."