Committee publication · Correspondence · 24 June 2026
Correspondence from the FCA to the Treasury on follow-up to Financial Inclusion session, dated 22 June 2026
From: Treasury Committee
Inquiry: Financial Inclusion Strategy
Summary
The FCA responds to Treasury Committee questions on financial inclusion. The letter addresses the FCA's statutory 'have regard' obligations (approximately 90 total), detailing their introduction across multiple acts from 2000 onwards; work on leaseholder home insurance, including 2023 rule changes and government reform support; and geographic capabilities of the Financial Lives Survey, which enables analysis by region, deprivation indices, and postcode areas to target financial inclusion interventions.
Key findings
- FCA subject to ~90 'have regard' duties scattered across FSMA and other legislation since 2000, introduced incrementally without explicit hierarchy, creating a complex and fragmented framework that can slow decision-making
- FCA introduced targeted 2023 rule changes on multi-occupancy building insurance requiring firms to consider leaseholders' interests, ensure fair remuneration, and provide transparent pricing; government consulted December 2024 on moving from commission to permitted-fee structure
- Financial Lives Survey 2024 surveyed ~18,000 adults with postcode-level data enabling geographical analysis by nation, region, ITL levels, indices of multiple deprivation, and town classifications (but not constituency level)
- FCA identified that many leaseholder issues fall outside its remit (property managing agents largely unregulated, leaseholders not usually contract parties); made recommendations to MHCLG for legislative reform
- FCA uses FLS geographic data to pinpoint exclusion by location and group, inform policy development, and collaborate cross-sector; data shared with HM Treasury for Financial Inclusion Strategy
Tone
FactualTopics
Key actors
Dame Meg Hillier MP, Sarah Pritchard, Financial Conduct Authority, Treasury Committee, HM Treasury, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, ABI/McGill Safety Reinsurance Facility
Notable line
“… their cumulative effect is to create a complex, fragmented and inefficient framework, which can slow down decision-making and make it harder to explain, scrutinise and apply consistently in practice.”
Key Quotes
“The FCA is currently required to 'have regard' to a significant number of statutory considerations - around 90 in total ( excluding discretionary 'may' have regards).”
“… their cumulative effect is to create a complex, fragmented and inefficient framework, which can slow down decision-making and make it harder to explain, scrutinise and apply consistently in practice.”
“In 2023, we introduced targeted rule changes to improve the transparency of insurance arrangements and strengthen protections for leaseholders in multi- occupancy buildings.”
“Our 2022 review noted that many issues being experienced by consumers fall outside our remit. For example, property managing agents are largely unregulated …”
“Yes, the Financial Lives Survey (FLS) collects postcode-level data for all respondents, enabling robust geographical analysis.”
“We use th e FLS geographic information as a core part of our financial inclusion work to pinpoint where issues are emerging, for which groups, and in which parts of the UK, helping the FCA target priorities and interventions.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗