Dale-Jones, the chairman of the Code Working Group, said it had conducted a survey of consumers’ experience of financial advice.

That feedback is being used, alongside the consultation with the industry and other stakeholders, to drive the development of the new code.

Dale-Jones said he was pleased with the response, and that consumers had been engaged. There were some themes that had been highlighted as important, he said.

“They are possibly predictable but a useful reminder.”

Clients wanted simple communicate, he said, and for advisers not to make things overly complicated. They wanted a summary rather than a full paperwork dump.

Clients said they expected advisers to look at their whole financial lived when giving advice and expected expert knowledge and for advisers to know their products properly.

“There was quite a bit of thoughtful comment about ethics. People want a degree of neutrality from advisers, so they can give unbiased advice.”

Respondents who had been through the advice process said they did not like a box-ticking approach and wanted tailored service.

“We’ve made the point that we want the code to work for consumers,” Dale-Jones said. “They need something that work for them and means something to them. Customer-centicity is something that the response has highlighted as important. Some things seem very straightforward but are important to consumers. They want to ask silly questions and know they won’t be laughed at.”

The group also held 10 roadshows around the country, attended by 800 people.

There were 160 submissions in the main consultation process, including nearly 2000 pages.

Dale-Jones said about 20% of submissions were from RFAs, 16% were from AFAs, and over 20% were from firms whose services ranged from investment and insurance broking, to investment advice and wider financial planning. Over 10% were from industry bodies or dealer groups, and around 13% were from insurers or QFEs such as banks.

Draft code standards will be consulted on once the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Select Committee has reported back to Parliament on the Financial Services Legislation Amendment Bill.