FCA review uncovers failures in handling freedom of information requests

The review, commissioned following a whistleblower’s allegations of "unlawful" conduct, highlights a pattern of inappropriate delays and misuse of time extensions in responding to requests for information.

The review documented that the FCA delayed responding to 17 out of 18 FOI requests received between July and December 2020. Specific findings indicate that the time extensions were improperly used not to ascertain the public interest, as required, but rather to create additional time for deliberations on how to deny the requests.

Evidence supporting discussions of the public interest during these extensions was described as "extremely limited".

This internal review, which was observed by the Financial Times, drew further attention to a troubling trend of alleged inefficiencies and misconduct within the FCA. It follows previous criticisms of the authority, including a report in November by a group of MPs and peers which branded the FCA as “incompetent at best, dishonest at worst.”

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services also raised concerns regarding the treatment of whistleblowers, who they claimed were often “criticised, bullied and sidelined.”

The FCA has come under scrutiny for its handling of whistleblower complaints on other occasions as well. In August, disclosures emerged alleging that FCA Chair Ashley Alder breached whistleblower confidentiality by sharing their emails without the necessary protection of anonymity, despite an internal review stating that he did not follow the whistleblowing policy to its fullest. Alder was ultimately cleared of wrongdoing.

The employee whose complaints initiated the FOI review accused the FCA of utilising time extensions to manipulate performance metrics and pointed to a culture focused on avoiding embarrassment. This whistleblower was dismissed from the FCA in 2023 after a two-year suspension and is currently awaiting an employment tribunal.

The internal review posited that the reasons behind these failures might be a mixture of insufficient resources, inefficiencies, poor processes, or lack of capability in handling FOI requests, rather than outright malintent. In response to the findings, the review suggested that the FCA should comprehensively retrain all staff, including senior leadership, on FOI procedures.

The FCA acknowledged the review’s findings and stated that it had “identified errors in a small minority of the hundreds of cases we deal with annually.” The authority has since taken steps to overhaul its FOI function, instating new management and processes.

In a statement, the FCA affirmed that it had made improvements and transparently admitted to its past mistakes, noting that it now meets statutory deadlines for FOI requests in over 90% of cases.