The UK's Daily Telegraph has obtained a 'freedom of information' disclosure from the Financial Conduct Authority to the effect that it received 15 complaints from individuals related to alleged incorrect, misleading or missing information on the FCA Register last year.

The register is a public record that shows details of firms, individuals and other bodies that are, or have been, regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and/or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). It includes each regulated person/body's main contact details, trading names, 'status' (e.g. whether they are authorised or approved), and the name and basic details of some firms and people whoare providing products or services in the UK or abroad without the required authorisation, approval or exemption from regulation. Under the new Senior Managers and Certification Regime, effective from 7 March 2016, which covers banks, building societies, credit unions and PRA-designated investment firms, only senior managers are 'pre-approved.'

The FCA says that of the 15 complaints, 8 'were upheld' (presumably by the FCA) in whole or in part.

The Telegraph also asked: "In 2017, how many individuals did the FCA pay compensation to, following complaints about incorrect information being displayed on the FCA Register? And how much was the total value of this compensation?"

The FCA told Compliance Matters: "In 2017 we can confirm 3 people were paid compensation following a complaint about incorrect information being displayed on the FCA Register. The total value of the compensation paid out was £12,359. We have interpreted ‘complaints’ as those raised against the FCA that have been formally dealt with and resolved by the FCA’s Complaints Team.

"Further, with c58,000 firms on our register, making sure their information on the register is accurate and up-to-date is an FCA priority. We constantly review our processes and have taken a number of measures to improve clarity of responsibilities, for maintaining and updating the register. This summer we began making a number of changes to the register with the aim of making it easier to use and understand. Changes made in July included making clearer when requirements, including suspensions, apply to an entry and also improvements to the search facility."

Editor's note: In a previous letter to Nicky Morgan MP (Cons, Loughborough) on 23 September, the FCA's CEO, Andrew Bailey, appeared to admit that the register is not yet fit for the expanding remit (30,000 new consumer credit firms taken on in 2014) of the FCA. Carefully sticking to the past tense when referring directly to the system's shortcomings, Bailey wrote: "While the register has undoubtedly...prevented harm there have been instances when information...has been out of date. One of my concerns after becoming CEO has been that we overhaul the register and make it fit for the now larger remit of the FCA.

"We have introduced an enhancement to the online system available to regulated firms, Connect, whereby if we hold an email address and the firm uses Connect, an annual prompt is emailed to them if there has been no change to their recorded details in the previous 12 months. Furthermore, when firms call our contact centre, if there has been no change to recorded contact details for some time, an on-screen message now prompts the contact centre to ask firms whether any details have changed. In addition, we are piloting an initiative whereby we conduct a review of new firms to check that the permissions they have, which are displayed on the register, reflect the firm's business model. We also call new firms one month after they are authorised to ensure that they are registered on the Connect system and thus able to keep their details up-to-date.

"Improving the accessibility of the register is a key objective. In early 2019 we plan to provide a free application programme interface (API)."