News & blogs: Compliance Roundups

Compliance Roundup - 7 December 2022

07 December 2022

In this issue:

FCA launches annual fees policy consultation
ICO begins publishing data protection reprimands
MMHPI calls for limits on contacting customers in debt in policy paper
FCA shares update on debt packager proposals
FCA publishes latest quarterly consultation
Council of EU and European Parliament announce provisional agreement on consumer credit directive
BEIS announces review into tackling late payments for small businesses
Crown Commercial Service updates data protection guidance relating to government procurement
FCA COO delivers speech on importance of culture
Insolvency Service seeks views on statistics publications
Latest FOS newsletter published
DCMS shares cyber security newsletter for December 2022
FCA CEO updates government on operational improvements
FCA enforcement - final notices and decision notices
Consultations

FCA launches annual fees policy consultation

The FCA has published its annual consultation on fees and levies policy, in which it sets out any proposed changes to policy.

The consultation includes a chapter on the factors the FCA will be taking into account when determining fee and levy rates, such as rising inflation and its own project work. The FCA also notes that it intends to maintain the current charges for appointed representatives for 2023/24 and will review them again when consulting on 2024/25 fee and levy rates.

The FCA’s fee and levy policy consultation is available here and closes for responses on 16 January 2023.

ICO begins publishing data protection reprimands

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has started to publish all reprimands issued to data controllers and data processors, going back to January 2022.

The ICO’s published reprimands are in addition to published fines, enforcement notices and summaries of audit reports, and provide some insight into the regulator’s approach to data protection breaches.

The publication of reprimands was announced in a blog post by the ICO’s director of investigations, Stephen Eckersley, in which he also discussed the ICO’s revised approach to the public sector.

The blog is available here and the published reprimands can be found here.

MMHPI calls for limits on contacting customers in debt in policy paper

The Money and Mental Health Policy Institute (MMHPI) has published a policy paper exploring the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on mental health, in which it sets out a range of measures it believes should be taken by government, regulators and firms to reduce the harm on people’s mental health.

One of their key proposals is that the government and FCA introduce clear limits on the number of times that creditors can contact people in debt.

The MMHPI paper can be found here.

FCA shares update on debt packager proposals

The FCA has provided an update on its debt packager proposals, which it consulted on in November 2021. The proposals would introduce rules banning debt packagers from receiving fees or other remuneration for referrals to debt solution providers.

The FCA has now advised that it decided to gather additional evidence after analysing the feedback it received. Once it has completed this work, it plans to set out further proposals in a consultation paper, expected in 2023.

The FCA update is available here.

FCA publishes latest quarterly consultation

The FCA has published its latest quarterly consultation, where it proposes minor or consequential changes to its Handbook.

Quarterly Consultation No. 38 includes minor changes to its Consumer Duty rules, aimed at providing some clarification on certain aspects, including the definition of a ‘closed product’.

Quarterly Consultation No. 38 is available here and responses are due by 9 January 2023.

Council of EU and European Parliament announce provisional agreement on consumer credit directive

The Council of the EU and the European Parliament have announced that they have reached a provisional agreement on the consumer credit directive, which would repeal and replace the 2008 directive on consumer credit agreements.

The new directive would introduce additional information and creditworthiness requirements prior to lending and will expand the scope of the directive to include other types of lending product, including loans of less than €200 and buy-now-pay-later products.

This provisional agreement remains subject to approval by the Council and Parliament.

The announcement can be found here.

BEIS announces review into tackling late payments for small businesses

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has announced plans to carry out a comprehensive review into tackling late payments for small businesses.

The business secretary, Grant Shapps, made the announcement on Small Business Saturday and urged large companies to pay their smaller suppliers promptly.

The announcement notes that the Payment and Cash Flow review will scrutinise existing payment practices and the measures in place to make sure small firms are not ripped off by their larger clients. It will also consider the progress made in specific sector of the economy in combatting late payment and will include an in-depth examination of current payment reporting regulations and the Prompt Payment Code. Alongside this, the government also intends to review the role and effectiveness of the Small Business Commissioner.

Further details can be found in the BEIS announcement here.

Crown Commercial Service updates data protection guidance relating to government procurement

The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) has published an updated Procurement Policy Note (PPN) which sets out changes to the data protection legal framework that impacts government procurement.

The PPN applies to all central government departments, their executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies and includes guidance on relevant data protection considerations for government procurement, as well as certain clauses that should be included in relevant contracts.

The updated PPN is available here.

FCA COO delivers speech on importance of culture

The FCA’s chief operating officer and executive director of authorisations, Emily Shepperd, recently delivered a speech in which she outlined the importance of culture in financial services firms.

The speech touches on some aspects of the FCA’s own approach to culture and how they anticipate the Consumer Duty impacting culture within firms. Shepperd also identifies some tools that can help firms embed positive culture.

The full text of the speech can be found here.

Insolvency Service seeks views on statistics publications

The Insolvency Service has launched a survey seeking views from stakeholders on its statistics publications.

The Insolvency Service publishes various official statistics, including insolvency numbers, enforcement outcomes and breathing space applications. They are now seeking views on whether the publications meet stakeholder’s needs and whether improvements or changes may be required.

The survey is available here and is open until 2 January 2023.

Latest FOS newsletter published

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has published the latest edition of its newsletter.

Ombudsman News No. 176 includes links to the recently-published annual report and the future funding feedback statement.

Ombudsman News No. 176 is available here.

DCMS shares cyber security newsletter for December 2022

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has published the December edition of its monthly cyber security newsletter.

The December edition includes information about the National Cyber Security Centre’s (NCSC) Cyber Awareness campaign, a recent speech by the cyber security minister on the importance of Cyber Essentials, and an update on the first meeting of the National Cyber Advisory Board.

The newsletter can be found here.

FCA CEO updates government on operational improvements

The FCA has shared a letter from its chief executive, Nikhil Rathi, to Andrew Griffith, economic secretary to HM Treasury, providing an update on the FCA’s operational improvements.

The letter touches on various changes and measures implemented as part of the FCA’s transformation programme or which are in the pipeline, including plans to publish more detail on the time taken for authorisations and plans to share their authorisations service metrics on a quarterly, rather than annual, basis.

The letter is available here.

FCA enforcement - final notices and decision notices

The FCA often publishes final notices and decision notices following investigations into alleged regulatory breaches or the refusal of applications for authorisation. These notices can often provide useful insight into what the FCA considers to be poor practice and the potential consequences of those practices. The FCA will also occasionally publish press releases detailing the outcome of cases pursued through the courts.

In the last week, the FCA has issued the notices listed below. You can read more about the FCA’s investigation and findings by clicking on the relevant link.

Pembrokeshire Mortgage Centre Limited – final notice
Julius Baer International Limited – final notice
Leigh Sutcliffe – final notice
Thomas Hogg – final notice
Maitiu Donnelly – final notice
Naveed Hussain – final notice
Kevin Peter Inwood – final notice
Carlo Palombo – final notice
Gustavo Eugenio Raitzin – decision notice
Louise Whitestone – decision notice
Thomas Seiler – decision notice
Diego Urra – decision notice
Poojan Sheth – decision notice
Jorge Lopez Gonzalez – decision notice
Lilium Markets Ltd – first supervisory notice