FSA fails to meet communication standards

The performance account showed out of the 62 processes, in relation to which the FSA received applications, calls or letters from stakeholders in the six months to 30 September 2005, 76 per cent of the FSA’s service standards were met, 19 per cent were nearly met and 5 per cent were not met (where less than 90 per cent of the target level was achieved).

David Kenmir, managing director of regulatory services at the FSA, said: “We are pleased that over the last six months our performance against our service standards has improved significantly. There is still room for improvement in some areas and we are working on this. In some categories we missed our target in only one case out of the many that we process.

It is vital to the interests of our stakeholders that we make the right regulatory decision and this means that some transactions take longer than others. Given a choice between meeting a service standard and taking more time to make the right decision, we will take more time.”

“We will continue to introduce further service standards where necessary and are constantly striving to improve our performance to ensure that we meet the needs of our stakeholders,” he added.

Bill Warren, director of The Complete Network, said: “Given everything that has happened over the period I believe it has done well. It really seems to be trying to improve its general communication standards. The FSA contacted me regarding a somewhat derogatory comment made in the press over its communications which, very positively, resulted in an increase of its frequently asked questions on its website.”