Information on targeted support - March 2026

As of 26 March 2026 we have had 7 firms apply for targeted support.

This information is not held as we do not record an indication of interest.

However, we would like to explain that in August 2025, we opened our Pre-Application Support Service (PASS) to applications from firms planning to apply for a targeted support permission and 26 firms have applied via PASS to date.

In our policy statement, we highlighted our aim to allow firms to offer targeted support for free at the point of use, as we think this will help make sure that targeted support is available to a large number of consumers. To enable targeted support to be provided free at the point of use, firms may recover the cost of providing targeted support through their other business lines or by other legal entities within the same group. Firms can decide whether to charge consumers for targeted support. Firms must make sure all consumers receive fair value.

We hold the information you have asked for, but we are prohibited from disclosing it to you, as it constitutes 'confidential information' for the purposes of section 348 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA), which the FCA has received in the discharge of its public functions. We are therefore exempted from the duty to disclose this information under section 44 of FOIA. For more information on why this exemption applies, please see Annex A.

· Section 44 (Prohibitions on Disclosure)

Section 44(1)(a) of FOIA states that information is absolutely exempt from disclosure if this is prohibited by law. Section 348 of FSMA restricts the FCA from disclosing 'confidential information' it has received in the course of carrying out its public function. FSMA allows exceptions to this in a few specific circumstances, but none of these apply to this request.

Confidential information here is defined as non-public and non-anonymised information involving a person's business or other affairs, which the FCA received in the course of carrying out its public function.

The information you requested is confidential information under this provision. Disclosure of this information in breach of section 348 of FSMA would be a criminal offence.

Section 44 is an absolute exemption which means that, if it is engaged, we do not need to weigh the public interest for and against disclosing the information.