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FSA/PN/117/2006
13 November 2006

The Financial Services Authority's Firms Contact Centre has received accreditation from Contact Centre Association (CCA), the UK's professional body for contact centres. The award is being presented to the FSA at a ceremony in Edinburgh today.

The Firms Contact Centre provides regulated financial firms with a direct point of contact to help them understand the FSA's regulatory requirements. It handles telephone and written communications from firms and is the main point of contact for about 25,000 small firms who do not have an individual FSA supervisor. Key Performance Indicators include answering 80% of calls within 20 seconds and resolving 90% of written communication within 12 working days of receipt. A re-structure of the Firms Contact Centre was implemented on 1 April 2006 as part of an FSA-wide commitment to make the FSA an easier place to do business with for its stakeholders.

Graeme Ashley-Fenn, FSA Director of Contact Revenue and Information Management, said:

"The award represents an important milestone in enabling the Firms Contact Centre to fulfil its developing role. It provides assurance that we have in place effective management and development processes to support the significant changes we have under way for the Centre."

Anne Marie Forsyth, Chief Executive of CCA, said:

"We are delighted the FSA has achieved accreditation. It is a mark of the organisation’s dedication to professionalism and commitment to providing excellence in customer service."

Notes for Editors

1. The CCA promotes the improvement and development of contact centres and the people employed within them. CCA has over 800 corporate members employing some 20 - 30% of the total UK contact centre population.

2. The CCA Standard is an operating guide designed to assist organisations to deliver increased levels of efficiency and customer service. The Standard comprises criteria against which contact centres are assessed by independent approved Accreditation Bodies.

3. The Standard consists of five sections which cover the following areas:

   • Customer focus

   • Performance and operational effectiveness

   • Recruitment, selection and retention strategies

   • Learning and development

   • Legislation, regulation and policies

4. Contact centres applying for accreditation must comply 100% with each section of the Standard. Compliance is tested by means of a thorough review of documentary evidence together with detailed interviews carried out by a qualified assessor with individual members of staff.

5. The FSA regulates the financial services industry and has four objectives under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000: maintaining market confidence; promoting public understanding of the financial system; securing the appropriate degree of protection for consumers; and fighting financial crime.

6. The FSA aims to promote efficient, orderly and fair markets, help retail consumers achieve a fair deal and improve its business capability and effectiveness.