| Link(s): | CP25/33: Regulatory fees and levies: policy proposals for 2026/27 | FCA CP25/33: Regulatory fees and levies: policy proposals for 2026/27 |
Context
The FCA has published its usual November Fees and Levies Consultation, in which it has proposed changes to the way it will raise fees from 2026/27, and the way it will collect levies payable to FOS and the FSCS.
Key points to note and next actions
This consultation paper (CP) includes:
- proposed changes to the FEES Manual (including FEES 5 (Financial Ombudsman Service)) and FEES 6 (Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS));
- fees policy updates; and
- a joint consultation with the PRA to amend invoice due dates for firms which pay £50,000 or more in FCA and/or PRA fees in a year.
FOS – retaining the current ‘relevant business’ definition
- The FCA is proposing to drop the previously proposed requirement to include income from all eligible complainants for the FOS fee tariff data. This is explained in paragraphs 3.4 to 3.14 of the Consultation. This is a return to the previous position that income only from consumers will be included in the RMA-J submission data for FOS. The proposal to include income essentially from SMEs has never fully been implemented. The FCA now feels that the costs of firms collecting the data and working out this figure outweigh the benefits given the relatively low percentage of complaints from these customers (expected to be 3.8% for 2025/26) as opposed to complaints from consumers.
Invoicing due date for payments on account
- For larger firms (those that pay over £50,000 in fees) the FCA is proposing to slightly amend the dates (only by a few days) for the first payment on account (paragraphs 4.1 to 4.4.).
Pro-rating fees for firms which cancel their Permissions
- The Consultation makes what is seen as a sensible proposal to pro-rata fees for firms which cancel their Permissions, rather than the current arrangement whereby a firm still pays a full year even if they cancel in the earlier part of the year. This is paragraphs 5.10 to 5.15 in the Consultation. The FCA’s preferred method is to
- move to a quarterly pro-rata basis, and they estimate that they would be giving up £1m in fees, which is only 0.13% of the Annual Funding Requirement based on 2024/25 figures.