Harriett Baldwin will next week lead an important debate on the future work of independent financial advisers. The MP has been granted the debate in Parliament’s Westminster Hall on October 20 from 11am til 11:30am after more than two years of lobbying on behalf of the IFA community. Many IFAs live in Harriett Baldwin’s constituency and have seen her at her advice surgery and she has taken regular meetings with groups of advisers following the announcement of a review into the way they work by the Financial Services Authority. The debate will focus on a consultation known as the Retail Distribution Review which will require all Independent Financial Advisers to take exams and . Harriett Baldwin commented: “I am delighted that I have the opportunity to debate this important issue in Westminster Hall. “The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is keen to raise the standards of financial advice but is doing so in a prescriptive and heavy handed way. I share their goal but I fear that requiring even very experienced advisers with unblemished track records to pass them may have a negative impact on those of my constituents who are financial advisers and will reduce access to independent financial advice for many people. “At a time when the FSA is being abolished it seems like an appropriate time to debate this issue.”