Our data shows the number of new whistleblowing reports we received between January and March 2024, and existing reports closed during this time period.
The data shows:
- how we received the report
- what the report was about
- what level of action we have taken
We assess every whistleblowing report we receive that falls within our remit, to inform our work and help us identify actual or potential harm. This could be harm to consumers, to markets, to the UK economy or to wider society.
What we can share
We know that greater transparency about the whistleblowing reports we receive is important and we are constantly trying to improve the information we make public.
However, our reviews will usually involve confidential information restricted by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA), including that relating to our supervision and enforcement work. This restriction may limit the information we can share with whistleblowers.
Whistleblowing reports
Our whistleblowing team receives reports by telephone, email, our online reporting form and post.
In this quarter (Q1 2024, January to March), we received 298 new whistleblowing reports – an increase on previous recent quarters.
For the same period in 2023 the team received 280 reports.
In 2023 Q4 (October to December), we received 249 reports.
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Data table
Figure 1 shows that we received half the new reports in 2024 Q1 via our online reporting form.
Contact details for whistleblowers
Protecting the identities of the whistleblowers who contact us is vital. We understand individuals may be hesitant to share their personal information with us when making a disclosure.
It is helpful when whistleblowers provide us with an ongoing contact option such as a phone number and/or email address. This allows us to:
- re-engage and develop on disclosures
- ask further questions
- keep individuals informed on how we can protect their identity whilst we carry out our work
Our whistleblowing team reviews all reports to make sure we manage information from whistleblowers appropriately. We will redirect any information we get from consumers or firms to other relevant teams to consider, such as our Supervision Hub.
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Data table
Figure 2 shows that in most of the reports we received in 2024 Q1, whistleblowers provided us with their contact details.
Whistleblowing allegations
Every report we receive will contain one or more allegations of wrongdoing. We received 298 reports in this quarter, containing 801 allegations in total.
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Data table
In Figure 3 we list the top 10 allegations made in whistleblowing reports between January and March 2024.
Closed whistleblowing reports
We closed 253 whistleblowing reports between January and March 2024:
- significant action to manage harm in 9 reports (4%) – this may include enforcement action, a section 166 skilled person report, or restricting a firm’s permissions or an individual’s approval
- action to reduce harm in 138 reports (55%) – this may include writing to or visiting a firm, asking it for information, or asking it to attest to complying with our rules
- 82 reports (32%) informing our work, including harm prevention, but no direct action
- 13 reports (5%) not considered indicative of harm, but the information was recorded and will be available for future reference
- 11 reports classified as other (4%)