Assurance of sustainability reporting
Read the full outcome
Detail of outcome
This consultation proposed to create a voluntary oversight regime and register for entities that offer third-party assurance services for sustainability-related disclosures, operated by the financial reporting regulator under the Companies Act.
The consultation received 99 responses from a broad range of organisations and individuals across the sustainability assurance ecosystem. Respondents included:
- accounting and audit firms
- accreditation organisations
- buyers and users of assurance services
- conformity assessment bodies
- independent assurance service providers
- industry associations
- professional bodies
- regulators
- sustainability experts
Responses were positive, with over 80% of respondents supporting the core proposition of a voluntary regime, and over 50% support across all other aspects of the proposal.
The government response sets out the resulting policy direction – it will progress as proposed, with the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) responsible for implementation. The government will legislate to formalise arrangements when Parliamentary time allows. In the interim, the government has tasked the FRC to establish an interim regime and register by mid 2026.
Original consultation
Consultation description
As part of the Mansion House package in November 2024, the government set out the steps it is taking to establish a world-leading sustainable finance framework that delivers credible and decision-useful sustainability-related financial information to the financial markets. A high-quality and competitive sustainability assurance market is critical to this mission.
In February 2025, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) published findings from its market study into the assurance of sustainability reporting, which highlighted demand for stronger regulatory oversight of assurance providers.
This consultation seeks views on a proposal for the planned Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority (ARGA) to be given responsibility for creating a voluntary registration regime for entities that offer third-party assurance services for sustainability-related disclosures. The proposed regime aims to drive trust in the UK sustainability assurance market and support companies to easily identify appropriately qualified sustainability assurance providers.
This consultation forms part of the first phase of consultations to modernise the UK’s framework for corporate reporting, published alongside consultations on exposure draft UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS) and the government’s transition plan manifesto commitment. It also forms part of the government’s work to strengthen audit and corporate governance, as announced in the King’s Speech 2024.
Documents
Updates to this page
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'Developing an oversight regime for assurance of sustainability-related financial disclosures: government response to consultation' was added as a consultation outcome.
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First published.
Update history
2026-01-30 11:00
‘Developing an oversight regime for assurance of sustainability-related financial disclosures: government response to consultation’ was added as a consultation outcome.
2025-06-25 13:00
First published.