The purpose of a disclosure log

“…in relation to … an update of information you provided me in a FOIA request (FOI0814) on 30 November 2007…and… the financial hardship conditions that form the exemption from FSA's complaints handling waiver for banks:

1. To date, or from the latest date available, from the information supplied to you by the banks for consideration in the ongoing review, how many customers making complaints have been identified by the banks as being cases of financial hardship since the introduction of the waiver?
2. To date, or from the latest date available, from the information supplied to you by the banks for consideration in the ongoing review, how many identified cases of financial hardship have been offered a partial or full refund of charges claimed?
3. What criteria do the FSA and the banks use to define 'financial hardship'.
4. If the answer to question 3 is 'none', does the FSA consider it sufficiently robust to rely solely on the bank's integrity to define 'financial hardship' for the purposes of complying with what is the flagship 'consumer protection' element of the waiver's conditions?
5. Please supply me with a precise list of what financial hardship information and data was requested by the FSA from the banks for consideration of the ongoing review.
6. What procedures did the FSA undertake to verify the accuracy of the above data.
7. Please supply me with the FSA’s views/recommendations given to the Banking Code review on the subject of the bank’s handling of cases of financial hardship.

Statement of context : On 27 July 2008 the complaints-handling waiver for banks was superseded by a new waiver that includes enhanced protection measures for consumers in financial difficulty and provides for enhanced monitoring of firms focussing on consumers’ experience whilst the waiver is in place.

“I understand the FSA have paid compensation in special circumstances in the past.

Under the Freedom of Information Act kindly disclose, who and how much, and why and when you have paid any kind of financial compensation to any person in the past 5 years.”

in relation to both Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Pension Review:

1. What was the total numbers of cases investigated;
2. What was the total numbers of cases investigated by Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs);
3. What was the total compensation figure;
4. What was the total compensation figure in respect of Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs).

… for information on whether Clive Briault will receive any form of compensation by leaving the FSA.

1. Number of information security breaches and card cloning incidents that financial firms have made the FSA aware of this year so far, during 2007 and 2006. Please indicate the numbers for each type of incident;
2. Names of the firms that have made the FSA aware of breaches during this time period;
3. Nature of the type of breach, i.e. laptop theft, hacker access, etc;
4. How much compensation the financial firms had to pay consumers, if any?
5. What was deemed to be the cause of the information security breach?

FOI0896 [PDF]

…for the number of on-site visits we have conducted in the past years.  On 28 March 2008 you clarified your request to include the number of on-site inspections or visits the FSA has conducted at financial institutions throughout the UK from 2002 to 2007/8.  You further requested that the information be divided into the fields of banking, insurance, securities providers.

…regarding fines imposed on financial services industry in the past 12 months:

1. Name of companies fined with dates?
2. The size each fine?
3. How and what the fines were used for by the FSA?

1. "Please advise what meetings and discussions have taken place, if any, at the FSA in relation to the subject of Fraudulent or frivolous mis-selling claims by the public. Please provide minutes from associated meetings.
2. Please advise what research the FSA has undertaken if any, in relation to the subject of Fraudulent or frivolous mis-selling claims by the public. Please provide research date and reports.
3. Please advise what policies and systems have been developed if any, by the FSA/FOS in relation to Fraudulent of frivolous mis-selling claims and what monitoring of this issue takes place.
4. Please provide us with details of any correspondence that the FSA has exchanged with the FOS on the subject of Fraudulent or frivolous claims."

FOI0875 [PDF]

FOI0875b [PDF]

FOI0875c [PDF]

1. "Please state the percentage of ethnic minority employees of the FSA in managerial posts.
2. Please also state the number of ethnic minority employees in managerial posts and state the position and grade of each such employee in order of seniority.
3. Set out the management and grading structure of the FSA."

"… Information regarding the number of applications made in 2002, 2006 and 2007 (these figures relate to successful applications), broken down by reference to the relevant part of RIPA and by reference to the Division making the application as well as the types of offences being investigated in general terms".

" I am writing to request a copy of the FSA's procurement policies and procedures/manual.  If they are consolidated in to a single procurement manual a copy of that will do, if not a copy of Connect's individual screen shots will be fine.  I don't need a copy of any associated forms.  I would prefer an electronic version of the information if possible, if not paper will be fine."

FOI0866 [PDF]

FOI0866b [PDF]

Information on FSA staff turnover rates (following a recent FOI request and an article in "Private Eye").

"I understand that FSA paid another political consultancy (before College Public Policy) to prepare your executives before they appear in public for such as parliamentary committees.  I was wondering if you could give some sort of indication of how much was paid to outside firms for that kind of activity since 2003 and which firms received this money."

1. "…details of any rule waivers or derogations provided to either the ABI or Insurers in respect of information to be sent to Mortgage Endowment Policy Holders that resulted from the meetings between the ABI and the FSA in 1999 and 2000."

2. "…details of the research which the FSA undertook on the subject of Mortgage Endowments in support of the FSAs meetings with the ABI. We should specifically like to know what work the FSA carried out in comparing Endowment Policy surrender values with the equivalent amount of principle that would have been repaid with a comparable repayment mortgage."

Information can be supplied upon request (CD ROM)

FOI0841 [PDF]

"…a copy of the minutes of the FSA meeting regarding the 15 year longstop discussion and the reasons it should not apply to the FOS".

“A copy of a letter written by the FSA to the FOS on 27 October 2003 “

FOI0835 [PDF]