Welcome to the UKGI weekly regulation update service for Aviva ABC brokers

Context

The FCA Board has appointed Liam Coleman as chair of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), with the approval of the Treasury.  Liam will take up the permanent role on 10 October 2026 for a 3-year term, having served as interim chair for the last year.  The FOS has also announced the appointment.

Key points to note and next actions

• The FCA is required by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) to appoint the chair of the Financial Ombudsman Service, with the appointment being approved by the Treasury.
• Liam has brought strong leadership and valuable insight to the Financial Ombudsman Service over the past year. His extensive experience across financial services, regulation and public service organisations will be invaluable as we work together to support a redress system that is fair, predictable and effective for consumers and firms.

Context

The FCA has published the transcript of its Annual Public Meeting, which was held in Edinburgh on 6 October 2026.  Various topics were discussed, including by certain attendees using the Meeting as an opportunity to air longstanding and well-documented grievances with the FCA, and including the suicide of a whistleblower, Mr Simon Andriesz.

Context

The FCA has announced that the Upper Tribunal will hear the legal challenges to the FCA’s motor finance compensation scheme between 16 and 26 February 2027.  The FCA has also published documents relating to the motor finance compensation scheme legal challenge, including the directions of the Upper Tribunal.

Key points to note and next actions

• On 30 March 2026, the FCA established the Motor Finance Commission Consumer Redress Scheme (the Scheme).
• The lawfulness of the Scheme was challenged by three lenders – Volkswagen Financial Services, Mercedes Benz Financial Services, and Crédit Agricole Auto Finance – and by Consumer Voice, represented by Courmacs Legal.  
• The scheme is currently partially suspended. However, firms must keep preparing for the scheme and progress complaints as far as possible.
• The FCA reiterates that the scheme is the quickest, fairest and most efficient way to compensate consumers and that it will defend the scheme robustly.
• Lenders must comply with the scheme rules that remain in force. This includes sending letters to some consumers not owed compensation under the scheme.
• Firms should plan for the possibility that, if the scheme or parts of it are quashed, there may be no motor finance compensation scheme, and no complaint handling pause. In that scenario, lenders would need to be operationally and financially ready to resolve complaints through the usual complaint-handling process and within the usual statutory timescales.
• The FCA expects lenders to plan rigorously for this scenario, make the necessary financial provisions and engage with their auditors.
• The FCA encourages firms to contact it if they have questions. The FCA will keep its firm web page updated with the latest information.

Context

The FCA has issued a press release outlining that two people who worked at a financial advice firm have pleaded guilty to fraud, after four clients lost £2m.

Key points to note and next actions

• Kerry Nelson, director of Nexus Independent Financial Advisers Ltd and Nexus Investment Managers Limited, and Jacqueline Stephens, the firms’ business operations manager, admitted all charges brought by the FCA, at Southwark Crown Court.
• They admitted defrauding clients between January 2019 and January 2023 using false accounts as part of the fraud. Nelson also admitted a money laundering offence whereby money was withdrawn from the firms to fund her extravagant lifestyle.
• The FCA said this was a serious breach of trust, which caused significant losses to clients who were relying on them.
• The pair will be sentenced on 10 December 2026. The FCA is considering confiscation proceedings to deprive Nelson of any financial benefit from the criminal conduct.

Context

The ICO has issued a news item outlining that the number of complaints they have received about automated nuisance calls has almost tripled in three months, reaching its highest level since 2021.  

Key points to note and next actions

• Complaints from the general public to the ICO rose from 1,374 in July to 2,178 in August, an increase of 58%, before climbing further to 69% to 3,684 in September.
• The ICO has highlighted that the sharp rise indicates the scale of the problem, and has cautioned that the true number of automated calls being made may be far higher than the complaints data suggests, with many incidents going unreported.
• There is growing concern about the use of automated and AI-enabled marketing calls (known as robo calls), as well as other calls which try to trick people into joining WhatsApp groups, share personal information or entice them into engaging with fraudulent schemes.
• The ICO is actively investigating the risk in automated calls and urges the public to report their experiences.

Context

Paul Arnold MBE, Chief Executive Officer at the ICO, spoke at the opening of the DPCC 2026.

Key points to note and next actions

• Paul outlined that stronger collaboration between the ICO and organisations is essential to help navigate the opportunities and risks presented by new technologies and changing expectations within society.
• He talked about ensuring trust through responsible innovation, where the protection of privacy and enabling of innovation can strengthen and complement each other, and that building public trust requires organisations to embed data protection and safeguards into the development and use of new technologies.
• The ICO aims to support organisations through its guidance, using tools such as Data Protection Essentials. It will continue to engage on emerging technologies such as agentic AI, while taking transparent and proportionate enforcement action where necessary.
• The ICO is committed to listening to stakeholders. It welcomes feedback and is working collaboratively across sectors to help professionals manage risks, build confidence and deliver responsible data use that benefits the public.