When the regulator knocks, will you be ready? - Nabarro

More documents

Recommendations

Info

3 Which of the following regulatory authorities is your business subject to Health and Safety Executive 76% Financial Services Authority 62% European Commission The Pensions Regulator The Environment Agency Office of Fair Trading The Takeover Panel 51% 49% 44% 39% 37% Sector regulator eg. OFCOM 7% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% This table shows the percentage of our respondents who believed that their businesses were subject to regulation by each of the watchdogs mentioned. In fact, most of the companies interviewed, and the majority of companies operating in this country, are subject to scrutiny from all of the bodies identified, with the exception of the Financial Services Authority, which only regulates providers of financial services and other sector-specific regulators. “Our clients are aware that regulators exist and that they are important, but it is impossible for any one person to understand the full range of the regulators and their powers.” Rob Moulton, Financial Services Partner
When the regulator knocks, will you be ready Survey 2008 Who are the regulators The Health and Safety Executive The Health and Safety Commission is responsible for health and safety regulation in Great Britain. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and local government are enforcing authorities who work in support of the Commission. The HSE’s mission is to protect people’s health and safety by ensuring risks in the workplace are properly controlled. It looks after health and safety in nuclear installations and mines, factories, farms, hospitals and schools, offshore gas and oil installations, the safety of the gas grid and the movement of dangerous goods and substances and many other aspects of the protection of both workers and the public. Local authorities are responsible to HSC for enforcement in offices, shops and other parts of the service sector. The Financial Services Authority The FSA is an independent organisation responsible for regulating financial services in the UK. It was set up by government, and the government is responsible for the overall scope of the FSA’s regulatory activities and for its powers. The FSA regulates most financial services markets, exchanges and firms. It sets the standards that they must meet and can take action against firms if they fail to comply. The European Commission The European Commission is the executive branch of the European Union. It is a cabinet of 27 Commissioners who are responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the EU’s treaties and the general dayto-day running of the EU. It is the only European body capable of initiating new laws, and once legislation is passed, it is the Commission’s responsibility to ensure it is implemented. The Pensions Regulator The Pensions Regulator is the UK regulator of work-based pensions schemes, with the specific objectives of protecting the benefits of members of these schemes; promoting good administration of work-based pensions schemes; and reducing the risk of situations arising that may lead to claims for compensation from the Pension Protection Fund. The regulator oversees schemes rather than employers, but its coverage includes most employers with at least five employees. Workbased pension schemes include any scheme that an employer makes available to employees, including occupational schemes, any personal pension schemes where employees have direct payment arrangements, and any stakeholder schemes. The Environment Agency The Environment Agency is the public body responsible for protecting and improving the environment in England and Wales. Its job is to make sure that air, land and water are looked after by everyone, and every year it brings hundreds of cases against companies and individuals that don’t take their environmental responsibilities seriously. The Office of Fair Trading The OFT is the UK’s consumer and competition authority, responsible for making sure markets work well for consumers. It does this by encouraging businesses to comply with competition and consumer law, and to improve their trading practices through self regulation; acting decisively to stop hardcore or flagrant offenders; studying markets and recommending action where required; and empowering consumers with the knowledge to make informed choices. The Takeover Panel The Panel is an independent body set up to administer the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers, and to supervise and regulate takeovers and other matters to which the Code applies. Its central objective is to ensure fair treatment of all shareholders in takeover bids. The Code applies to all offers for companies that have their registered offices – and their securities admitted to trading on a regulated market – in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man. It also applies to private companies in certain circumstances, such as if any of their securities have been admitted to the Official List at any time in the ten years prior to the offer; or if dealings in their securities have been published on a regular basis in the preceding decade. The Code covers companies with registered offices in the UK and securities trading on regulated markets in one or more European member states; companies with registered offices in another member state whose securities are admitted to trading only in the UK and, in certain cases, to companies with registered offices in other member states whose securities are traded on exchanges in more than one member state, but not on a regulated market in the member state where they have a registered office. Sector regulators These include the communications regulator OFCOM, the water regulator OFWAT, The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (OfGEM), The Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED), and the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR). Each has statutory powers to regulate participants in the industries for which it takes responsibility.
Page 1 and 2: When the regulator knocks, will you
Page 3: When the regulator knocks, will you

When the regulator knocks, will you be ready? - Nabarro

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?