Consultation outcome

FS Sector Strategy: Review of the Financial Ombudsman Service

From:
HM Treasury
Published
15 July 2025
Last updated
1620 MarchMay 2026 — See all updates
This consultation has concluded

Read the full outcome

Review of the Financial Ombudsman Service - Consultation response

PDF, 216206 KB, 26 pages

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email digital.communications@hmtreasury.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Review of the Financial Ombudsman Service - Consultation response

HTML

Detail of outcome

This document provides a summary of the key themes raised by respondents in response to the questions in the consultation and notes the government’s final policy position on the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) reforms. The government willhas bringbrought forward primary legislation to deliver the reforms whenas Parliamentarypart timeof allows.the Financial Services and Markets Bill.

The document was amended on 18 May 2026 to remove original paragraph 2.19, which set out the government’s intention to take a power allowing it to specify, in the future, that particular rules should be treated differently under the adapted ‘fair and reasonable’ test. Following further assessment and feedback, the government no longer considers this power necessary and it is not included in the Bill.

Original consultation

Summary

A consultation on the government’s proposed reforms to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), following the Economic Secretary’s review.

This consultation ran from
to

Consultation description

This consultation sets out the findings and proposed reforms following the Economic Secretary’s Review of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), which was announced in March in the government’s Regulation Action Plan.

The consultation propose a package of reforms to the legislative framework in which the FOS operates. These are designed to stop the FOS acting as a quasi-regulator and ensure that the FOS is delivering its role as a simple, impartial dispute resolution service.

These reforms are intended to provide greater certainty and predictability for consumers and firms who use the FOS.

Documents

Review of the Financial Ombudsman Service Consultation

PDF, 610 KB, 38 pages

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email digital.communications@hmtreasury.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Review of the Financial Ombudsman Service Consultation (Accessible)

HTML

Updates to this page

Published 15 July 2025
Last updated 1620 MarchMay 2026 + show all updates

  1. paragraph 2.19 removed from consultation outcome document.

  2. Consultation response added.

  3. First published.

Sign up for emails or print this page