Background
This section provides information on the Practitioner Panel's background, role, statutory status and operations.
The Financial Services Practitioner Panel was established in November 1998, alongside the Consumer Panel, to provide a high-level body available for consultation on policy by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and which is able to communicate to the FSA views and concerns of the regulated industries. It comprises senior figures from a cross-section of the financial services industry.
In 1999 the FSA also set up the Smaller Businesses Practitioner Panel to represent the views and interests of smaller regulated firms. Its Chairman is also an ex officio member of the Practitioner Panel.
The Practitioner Panel meets formally on a monthly basis, when it discusses current and future issues of relevance to regulated firms. In addition, specialist sub groups of Practitioner Panel members convene to discuss specific matters with FSA staff at greater length – the use of such groups is increasing, providing the value of more focused deliberation.
The Practitioner Panel also issues an Annual Report and Press Releases when required. One of its most important effectiveness measurement tools is its comprehensive biennial survey of regulated firms.
Role of the Practitioner Panel
The Practitioner Panel’s key remit is to represent the interests of practitioners, and to provide input to the FSA from the industry in order to help it in meeting its four statutory objectives and principles of good regulation.
Together with the Consumer Panel and the Smaller Businesses Practitioner Panel, it plays an important role in the accountability and regulatory framework of UK financial services regulation.
The Practitioner Panel sees its main role as being that of a 'constructive critic' of the Financial Services Authority. It aims to speak across all sectors in offering input at a strategic level on important policy issues.
The Practitioner Panel has no directly employed staff, but is supported by the staff on the FSA's Independent Panels Secretariat. The Panel has requested no budget from the FSA; ad hoc expenditure, such as the cost of the Annual Report and of the Survey of Regulated Firms, is agreed with and paid for by the FSA.
Statutory Status
The Practitioner Panel received statutory status under Section 9 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. On 18 June 2001, the commencement order giving statutory status to both the Practitioner and Consumer Panels under the Act came into force.
Section 11 of the Act brought an important part of the formal accountability of the FSA to the Panels into effect. This requires the FSA to consider representations made by the Panel and, where it disagrees with a view expressed or proposal made in a representation, to provide the Practitioner Panel with an explanation in writing of its reasons for disagreeing. The same also applies to the FSA’s relationship with the Consumer Panel.
Neither Panel expects that formal representations under the Act will be made often, and none have been made to date. This is nonetheless an important facility: whilst the Practitioner Panel has no fear that the present FSA administration would ever seek to sideline the Practitioner Panel or its views, it is important to protect against such a possibility.
Access to the FSA
The Practitioner Panel Chairman meets regularly with the Chairman and Chief Executive of the FSA, through whom it has access to the FSA Board. These meetings provide an opportunity to discuss issues of particular importance and to raise emerging concerns. The Practitioner Panel also submits a monthly Transmittal Note to the FSA Board, to highlight specific fundamental points raised in the course of its monthly meetings.
The Practitioner Panel’s Annual Report is the subject of a formal presentation to the FSA Board. There are frequent informal and ad hoc contacts between Practitioner Panel members and Directors and senior executives of the FSA.
FSA Managing Directors regularly attend Practitioner Panel meetings to provide an update on current issues within their responsibility, and senior FSA executives regularly attend meetings to present on policy developments, seeking the Practitioner Panel’s views before going out to wider formal consultation.
Links with Trade Associations
The Practitioner Panel takes care to ensure it does not duplicate the important work of the trade associations in representing the views of their members. The associations have the staff and resources to promote the interests of their respective members in response to the impact of FSA policies on the sector they represent.
At the same time, the Practitioner Panel retains close links with the trade associations through regular meetings between Panel representatives with trade body officials, as well as biannual briefings by the Panel Chairman of senior trade association executives, held jointly with the Chairman of the Smaller Businesses Practitioner Panel. In addition, individual Practitioner Panel members often have close links with the respective trade association representing their sector.
All of these measures ensure that the Practitioner Panel is properly sighted on trade association views and can include them in its deliberations.