Staff access to FCA internal Whistle-blowing arrangements

The request was successful.

Dear The Financial Conduct Authority,

Please provide details of how FCA staff are required to contact the internal whistle-blowing line.

Please confirm the numbers of contacts that have been received by the relevant team from FCA staff, and the number of reports investigated and upheld / declined, split by London and Edinburgh offices

Please also confirm the methods by which FCA promotes the use of its internal Whistle-blowing line.

Yours faithfully,

Steven Franks

The Financial Conduct Authority

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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is registered as a limited company in England and Wales No. 1920623. Registered office: 25 The North Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HS, United Kingdom

The Payment Systems Regulator Limited is registered as a limited company in England and Wales No. 8970864. Registered office: 25 The North Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HS, United Kingdom

Switchboard 020 7066 1000

Web Site http://www.fca.org.uk (FCA); http://www.psr.org.uk (the Payment Systems Regulator Limited)

Freedom of Information, The Financial Conduct Authority

1 Attachment

Our ref: FOI6785

 

 

Dear Mr Franks, 

 

Freedom of Information: Right to know request

 

Thank you for your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“the
Act”), dated 21 September 2019, for the following information:

 

 1. “Please provide details of how FCA staff are required to contact the
internal whistle-blowing line.

 

 2. Please confirm the numbers of contacts that have been received by the
relevant team from FCA staff, and the number of reports investigated
and upheld / declined, split by London and Edinburgh offices

 

 3. Please also confirm the methods by which FCA promotes the use of its
internal Whistle-blowing line.”

 

Your request has now been considered and our response is set out below.
Please note that for ease of reference we have numbered each point of your
request and will respond to each point in turn.

 

Question 1: The FCA internal whistleblowing policy sets out the process
that FCA staff should follow and provides the details of who they can
contact to submit an internal whistleblowing report. The full details of
our policy can be seen at pages 34-38 of the FCA [1]Employee Handbook.

 

Question 2: The figures provided below relate to the number of internal
whistleblowing concerns received by our Internal Audit Division from 2014
to date. Please note, since you have not specified any timeframe for this
point of your request, we have provided information from the last five
years, which is readily available.  If you would like us to consider a
request for information relating to a different timeframe, please let us
know in writing.

Number of reports received and investigated: 37

Number of investigations closed to date: 28

 

Outcomes of the 28 investigations closed to date: 

 

Fully upheld: 4 

Partially upheld: 4

Not upheld: 20

 

Of the 28 whistleblowing reports investigated and closed to date, 17 were
raised in relation to the London office. The location of the remaining 11
reports could not be identified from the information provided.

 

Question 3: As mentioned in response to question 1, all members of staff
are made aware of the details of our internal whistleblowing policy, and
who to contact if they want to raise any concerns, through our [2]employee
handbook. In addition, information on our internal whistleblowing policy
and on the different ways staff can provide their feedback is available to
all FCA staff through the FCA “intranet”.

 

If you are unhappy with the decision made in relation to your request, you
have the right to request an internal review.  If you wish to exercise
this right you should contact us within 40 working days of the date of
this response.

 

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you also
have a right of appeal to the Information Commissioner at Information
Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9
5AF.  Telephone: 01625 545 700.  Website: [3]www.ico.org.uk

 

Yours sincerely

 

Information Disclosure Team

12 Endeavour Square

E20 1JN

 

 

This communication and any attachments may contain personal information.
For more information about how and why we use personal information and who
to contact with any queries about this, please see our privacy notices:
FCA Privacy Notice (https://www.fca.org.uk/data-protection) and PSR
Privacy Notice
(https://www.psr.org.uk/cookies-privacy-a...).

This communication and any attachments contain information which is
confidential and may be subject to legal privilege. It is for intended
recipients only. If you are not the intended recipient you must not copy,
distribute, publish, rely on or otherwise use it without our consent. Some
of our communications may contain confidential information which it could
be a criminal offence for you to disclose or use without authority. If you
have received this email in error please notify [email address]
immediately and delete the email from your computer. Further information
on the classification and handling of FCA information can be found on the
FCA website
(http://www.fca.org.uk/site-info/legal/fc...).

The FCA (or, if this email originates from the Payment Systems Regulator
Limited, the FCA on behalf of the Payment Systems Regulator Limited / the
Payment Systems Regulator Limited) reserves the right to monitor all email
communications for compliance with legal, regulatory and professional
standards.

This email is not intended to nor should it be taken to create any legal
relations or contractual relationships. This email has originated from the
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), or the Payment Systems Regulator
Limited.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is registered as a limited company
in England and Wales No. 1920623. Registered office: 12 Endeavour Square,
Stratford, London, E20 1JN, United Kingdom

The Payment Systems Regulator Limited is registered as a limited company
in England and Wales No. 8970864. Registered office: 12 Endeavour Square,
Stratford, London, E20 1JN, United Kingdom

Switchboard 020 7066 1000

Web Site http://www.fca.org.uk (FCA); http://www.psr.org.uk (the Payment
Systems Regulator Limited)

References

Visible links
1. https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/corpo...
2. https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/corpo...
3. http://www.ico.org.uk/