Blog
Government surplus plans revealed
On May 29, 2025, the Government published the outcome of its February 2024 consultation on options for DB schemes.
United Kingdom | Publication
DE&I is rising to the top of the regulatory agenda and is an important component of the ‘G’ in ESG. Research shows evidence of correlations between DE&I and positive outcomes in risk management, good conduct, healthy working cultures, and innovation. These outcomes directly contribute to the stability, fairness and effectiveness of the firms, markets and infrastructure that together make up the financial sector. The Bank of England, PRA and FCA view DE&I as a priority and are proposing a framework that would establish minimum standards and give firms a better understanding of what is expected of them in this area from a regulatory standpoint.
The regulators proposals apply differently to firms depending on their number of employees, their categorisation under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR), and whether they are dual-regulated. To reduce regulatory burden, smaller firms with fewer than 251 employees would be exempt from many of the requirements.
Limited Scope SMCR firms | Smaller solo-regulated firms | Large solo-regulated firms | Smaller dual-regulated firms | Large dual-regulated firms | |
Non-financial misconduct – Conduct rules, F&P assessments and Threshold Conditions | ✔ |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
✔ |
Data reporting |
✖ |
✔ Report number of employees only |
✔ Full data reporting requirements apply (covering mandatory and voluntary information) |
✔ Report number of employees only |
✔ Full data reporting requirements apply (covering mandatory and voluntary information) |
Data disclosure | ✖ |
✖ |
✔ |
✖ |
✔ |
D&I strategies | ✖ |
✖ |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
D&I targets | ✖ |
✖ |
✔ |
✖ |
✔ |
Risk and governance | ✖ |
✖ |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
Monitoring D&I | ✖ |
✖ |
✖ |
✔ |
✔ |
Interplay with SMCR and individual accountability |
✖ | ✖ | ✖ | ✔ | ✔ |
Blog
On May 29, 2025, the Government published the outcome of its February 2024 consultation on options for DB schemes.
Publication
On 3 June 2025, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) published an updated Stewardship Code, the UK Stewardship Code 2026, following a consultation process that ran from November 2024 to February 2025. It will apply from 1 January 2026 and replace the UK Stewardship Code 2020 (2020 Code).
Subscribe and stay up to date with the latest legal news, information and events . . .
© Norton Rose Fulbright LLP 2025