The fact that thousands of families are still awaiting the results of an investigation into the collapse of Farepak is "not acceptable", Harriet Harman said yesterday.

The fact that thousands of families are still awaiting the results of an investigation into the collapse of Farepak is "not acceptable", Harriet Harman said yesterday.

The Commons Leader promised to "get some answers" on why the report by the Companies Investigations Branch (Cib) of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform had not been published.

The investigation was completed in May but the report is subject to limited disclosure and has not been made public.

The Cib is taking independent advice on whether the evidence in the report warrants legal action.

Some 150,000 people lost more than £40m of their savings when the firm went into administration in October 2006. Creditors, including customers, are only expected to get about 5p in every pound returned.

Yesterday, during questions on future parliamentary business, Labour's Jim Devine , MP for Livingston, called for a debate about the probe.

He said: "It is nearly two years since the collapse of the Farepak Christmas savings scheme. Can we have a debate in government time about the inquiry that was set up last year?

"Tens of thousands of decent hard-working families deserve to know what happened to their money."

Ms Harman told him: "I think the whole House will have every sympathy with the points that you have made.

"We are all well aware that those people who lost money in Farepak were people who could least afford to lose money.

"The fact that they are still waiting for the report I think is really not acceptable."