As a public body, we aim to eliminate discrimination and advance equality of opportunity. Read more about our work towards our objectives.
As a public body, we’re subject to the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED)[1]. This means we must aim to:
- eliminate discrimination
- advance equality of opportunity
- foster good relations between people who share protected characteristics, and those who don’t
Equality Impact Assessments
As part of the PSED, we carry out Equality Impact Assessments (EIA).
We designed the EIA process to record how we make decisions, and to help us assess the potential impact of our work on different groups by:
- identifying what evidence we used to consider our equality objectives, and if we should get any further evidence to improve our decision making
- making sure that any proposed rules, policies, and guidance don’t unnecessarily disadvantage or discriminate against any protected characteristic
- identifying opportunities to promote equality of opportunity and good relations between groups and to lessen any negative effects of our decisions
We don’t have a legal requirement to conduct EIAs. However, the assessment is a useful way of guiding our decision making, as well as demonstrating that we’ve taken on board the PSED, which is a legal requirement.
Equality and Human Rights Commission
In 2021, we signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU)[2] with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), the regulator responsible for the Equality Act.
This MOU formalises our relationship and allows us to co-operate as effectively as possible, including by:
- sharing knowledge and expertise, as well as working together to address relevant problems we’ve identified
- co-operation on research and policy work
- referral of concerns and complaints received
Our supply chain
As part our annual update of our Supplier Code of Conduct (PDF)[3], in December 2022, we made a number of changes around what we expect from our suppliers regarding DEI.
We also use our membership of the Financial Services Qualification System (FSQS)[4] community to gather DEI information on those suppliers that are also members.
Making our information more accessible
We provide information in alternative formats[5] on request, including for large font, audio and easy read publications.
We make sure our website complies with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines[6] (WCAG) 2.1 A and AA standards. We also test that our website works with assistive technologies, such as screen readers, to make the site easier for everyone to use.
Consumer contacts
On average, our contact centre receives 9,000 consumer contacts a month via telephone, webform and letter.
The team offers a 48-hour call back service to consumers who are potentially vulnerable. We also have a relationship with the Samaritans and offer a referral service to them in exceptional circumstances. We also work with Age UK, Shelter and Scope, who refer consumers to us when relevant.
Our complaints process
In January 2022, we updated the acknowledgement email and letter we send to people who’ve complained about us, to highlight accessibility support available.
The information highlights several communication methods open to people who’ve complained. This includes:
- speaking to someone
- corresponding in Braille or using large print or coloured paper
- providing audio recordings of our letters or using text relay
- giving written translations of correspondence to or from another language
- with their consent, corresponding with a representative on their behalf such as a relative, friend or community advocate
Speaker requests
In 2022, we changed our existing speaker request process to improve our focus on diversity. We also published information about our approach[7] for event organisers.
We aim to encourage event organisers, and the wider industry, to improve the diversity of the events we attend. This also promotes a more diverse range of speakers representing the FCA.
FCA Handbook
When developing new rules, or amending existing ones in our Handbook, we’ve taken care to make sure any language used is inclusive. This means using language that isn’t unnecessarily gendered.
Where language and terminology in older parts of our Handbook could be considered non-inclusive, we’re taking steps to replace this.
Innovation Hub
FinTech has an important role to play in driving financial inclusion.
In 2022, we launched an initiative to encourage firms developing innovative products in the DEI space to work with our services.
You can find out more about our work by visiting our DEI Spotlight Innovation Hub[8].
