SALC is part of a network of county associations across England and we often work together to support the sector in a variety of ways.

The Surrey Association of Local Councils has tabled a motion to the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) Policy Committee for 28th January 2025 with a view to ensuring NALC has a formal mandate on its register to lobby government for inclusion of parishes on the list of bodies eligible to make complaints to the Financial Services Ombudsman.  The full wording of the motion is below.  The SALC Board considered a request to support this motion which was unanimously agreed at their meeting on 9th October.

PROPOSED MOTION

Currently if a Parish or Town Council has a dispute with a financial services organisation, they are unlikely to get redress through the Financial Services Ombudsman (FSO) as they often do not meet the criteria of an eligible complainant required under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 PART XVI.

The rules concerning the jurisdiction of the Financial Ombudsman Service are set out in Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)’s Handbook Dispute Resolution (DISP 2)2 . Whether a complaint can be brought to the Financial Ombudsman Service depends on four factors set out in this handbook: -

1. The type of activity to which the complaint relates,

2. The place where that activity took place,

3. Whether the complaint was referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service in time,

4. Whether the complainant is eligible.

The FCA sets out the categories of eligible complainant that may bring complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service in DISP 2.7.3R: An eligible complainant must be a person that is:

1. a consumer: or

2. a micro-enterprise;

3. a charity which has an annual income of less than £6.5 million at the time the complainant refers the complaint to the respondent; or

4. a trustee of a trust which has a net asset value of less than £5 million at the time the complainant refers the complaint to the respondent; or

5.(in relation to CBTL business) a CBTL consumer; or

6. a small business at the time the complainant refers the complaint to the respondent; or

7. a guarantor

The FSO have noted that they could initially look at compliant submission from local Parish and Town councils in their roles as trustees of an associated trust, or in relation to a connected charity if applicable. However, if Parish and Town councils do not meet the eligible complainant criteria outlined above then the FSO would have to consider on a case by case basis with no guarantee of eligibility.

Surrey ALC request that NALC lobby the government to ensure that Parish and Town councils be added to the list of eligible bodies able to complain to the FSO referred to in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 PART XVI and are added to the list in the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)’s Handbook Dispute Resolution (DISP 2). This will give Parish and Town Councils access to unbiased support from the FSO in resolving complaints they may find themselves in when dealing with financial service organisations.

In addition, NALC has advised that similar restrictions apply to other complaint resolution services such as for utilities, and it is proposed in the second part of the motion that the motion also ensures redress is available to any similar ombudsman service.