Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what, if any, statutory powers they have to issue binding directions to (1) the Financial Conduct Authority, and (2) the Prudential Regulation Authority; and on how many occasions in each year since 2010 they have been exercised.

The Treasury has a limited number of powers to direct the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).

It has a power to direct the regulators to take an action if doing so is necessary to fulfil international obligations, or to refrain from action which appears incompatible with international obligations.

The Treasury also has powers of direction which are designed to promote the accountability and transparency of the FCA and PRA. These include the power to direct the regulators to:

• Review specified rules, where doing so is in the public interest;
• Report on their performance, where necessary for scrutinising the discharge of their functions;
• Carry out an investigation into a specified event of regulatory failure in certain circumstances, including, in the case of the PRA, where public funds have been expended.

These powers have not been used.

The Treasury has a power to direct the FCA and PRA to undertake an investigation of relevant events, where it is in the public interest, in certain circumstances. This power has been used twice: in 2018, to direct the PRA to review the events relating to the supervision of the Co-operative Bank, and in 2019, to direct the FCA to review the events relating to the failure of London Capital and Finance.

The Treasury does not have direction-making powers in relation to the FCA or the PRA regarding the content of their rules, or their approach to supervision and enforcement.