Commentary Fees to meet Treasury expenditure Section 135: Fees to meet Treasury expenditure
307.Section 135 inserts new sections 410A and 410B into FSMA.
308.New section 410A(1) gives the Treasury power to make regulations to give themselves a power to direct a regulator (the FCA, the PRA or the Bank of England) to impose fees on certain persons to meet relevant expenses, to make related provision as to the way in which the regulator must comply with any direction given by the Treasury under the regulations, and to require the regulator to pay any monies received through the levy to the Treasury. The PRA may be required to impose fees on PRA-authorised persons. The FCA may be required to impose fees on other authorised persons or recognised investment exchanges. The Bank of England may be required to impose fees on recognised clearing houses provided they are not regulated by the PRA or the FCA. The definition of “relevant persons” (in subsection (8)) has been designed to ensure that no person can be made liable to pay fees to more than one regulator.
309.Subsection (2) defines “relevant expenses” as those expenses incurred by the Treasury in connection with, or for the purposes of, United Kingdom membership of (or Treasury participation in) international organisations identified in the regulations, provided that the expenses represent a contribution (by way of subscription or otherwise) to the resources of the international organisation, and provided that Treasury considers that the expenses are connected to the organisation’s work in relation to financial stability or financial services. “Relevant expenses” includes expenses of a capital nature (for example, the provision of an endowment). Other examples of expenses which may be relevant for this purpose are the payment of a membership fee or the secondment of staff to a relevant international organisation.
310.Subsection (3) ensures that the PRA and the FCA charge fees in pursuance of a direction by way of rules.
311.Subsection (4) applies Chapter 2 of Part 9A of FSMA to rules made by either the PRA or the FCA charging fees in order to comply with a direction from the Treasury under regulations made under section 410A, as it applies to any rules made by the regulators charging fees, so that all rules charging fees are subject to the same procedural requirements.
312.Subsection (5) applies paragraph 36 of Schedule 17A to FSMA to fees charged by the Bank of England in compliance with a direction from the Treasury under regulations made under section 410A so that such fees are subject to the same provisions as other fees the Bank charges to recognised clearing houses.
313.Subsection (6) makes further provision as to what may be included in regulations made by the Treasury. In particular, the Treasury may make provision about what is, or what is not, to be regarded as an expense for this purpose.
314.Subsection (7) ensures that each regulator is able to recover any amount payable to it for fees imposed in consequence of regulations made by the Treasury as a debt owed to it.
315.New section 410B sets out the requirements which the Treasury must satisfy in giving any direction to the regulators as a result of regulations made under new section 410A. Under subsection (2), the Treasury must first consult the regulator to which they propose to give a direction. Subsection (3) provides that the direction must be in writing and sets out what information it should contain. Subsection (4) requires the Treasury to lay a copy of any direction it gives to the regulator under regulations made under section 410A before Parliament.