The City watchdog plans to “consolidate five current returns into one,” which it adds will also” improve the quality of the data we receive, helping us identify potential harm to consumers faster”. 

It adds that it intends to standardise the number of times it asks regulated firms to send data returns so that the timing of the body’s requests is more predictable.  

This will help firms to plan more effectively, as well as helping the regulator process the information more consistently, it contends. 

Simplify Consulting lead consultant Dom House says the move by the regulator “represents a step forward for complaints processes”.

House points out: “Simplification of complaints reporting should help firms who are currently completing multiple returns to reduce the burden of collation and submission, and should reduce the risk of mis-reporting.

“In addition, and perhaps the biggest improvement in how complaints are viewed across the industry is that this will enable complaints data to be processed more efficiently by the FCA.

“As data becomes more important across the industry, and at the FCA itself, improvements to the quality and availability of the data should enable firms to make better and smarter comparisons with where they sit within the market and against their peers. 

“With the evolution of Consumer Duty more and more firms will be looking at this data to identify where their areas of focus should be.”

FCA executive director for supervision, policy, competition and international Sarah Pritchard adds: “Streamlining the complaints data reporting process will ease unnecessary burdens on firms and strengthen our commitment to smarter, more effective regulation.  

“These proposals will also help us collect better quality data on complaints received by firms which will help us spot and respond more quickly to harm as it arises.” 

The FCA will accept feedback on the proposals in its consultation paper, CP25/13: Improving the complaints reporting process, until 24 July. 

The watchdog has made several changes and launched a series of consultations since, Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves wrote to a range of regulators last November, asking them to loosen rules that will allow economic growth, particularly within the UK’s financial sector.