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Regulations, policies and procedures

Financial Services Authority (FSA) guidelines

Although NS&I is not regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), NS&I recognises the relevant regulations and aims for voluntary compliance with relevant FSA standards and works in the spirit of the overall regulatory framework.

The Landscape Review 2005 determined that it was not appropriate for NS&I to be subject to FSA regulation because it is governed by specific legislation that regulates the way in which its products are managed and because all strategic decisions require Ministerial consent. The FSA formally stated that “…it is difficult to see how FSA regulation would (materially) enhance consumer protection”. However, HM Treasury noted that it expects NS&I to comply fully with FSA requirements where applicable and NS&I should extend compliance with FSA requirements on a voluntary basis. As NS&I holds no capital, has no lending or dealing activities and offers primarily simple deposit based products, many areas of the FSA regulatory regime are not directly relevant. The relevant FSA requirements have been identified and implementation has commenced on enhanced compliance and risk strategies to deliver these. Progress against the strategies is tracked monthly, and progress is discussed every six months with the FSA.

Treating Customers Fairly
Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) is part of the Financial Services Authority’s (FSA) work to help consumers achieve a fair deal in the financial services market. It is a key part of the FSA’s move to deliver improved outcomes for retail consumers. As part of our TCF activity, we have carried out research into customer definitions of fairness and measured how well we deliver against their expectations. Our findings show that we are performing well in this area, and we will use this research to inform our TCF work going forward.

Financial Ombudsman Service

NS&I voluntarily subscribes to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). This ensures that all customer disputes are dealt with equally and fairly and gives customers access to the same dispute resolution process as other financial service providers.

View our complaints procedure

Banking Code

As part of our commitment to providing our customers with a high standard of service, we subscribe to the Banking Code. You can download a copy of the Banking Code here. This link is to a PDF file and will open in a new window.

The Banking Code is a voluntary code which sets the standards of good practice we aim to follow in our dealings with customers. Most financial institutions, including banks and building societies, in the UK subscribe to the Code.

Our subscription to the Banking Code covers all our products and services except for Premium Bonds.

Compliance with the Banking Code is monitored by an independent body called the Banking Code Standards Board. Further information is also available from the website of the British Bankers' Association.

Acts and regulations

The copy of legislation on this website has been prepared by NS&I for its customers as a guide to the principal legislation governing its products. The copy is not an official version of the legislation and it is not authoritative.

NS&I will endeavour to keep the copy accurate and to incorporate in the copy all current amendments to the legislation.

However, NS&I will not accept any liability for any errors or omissions. Persons should have regard to the authoritative version of the legislation and seek their own advice in order to ascertain the law applicable to any circumstance.

An official version of the legislation can be accessed at the website of The Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI), www.opsi.gov.uk. The authoritative version is the Queen's Printer copy published by (and can be purchased from) The Stationery Office Limited (TSO), www.tsoshop.co.uk.

Click on one of the links below to download the document you want. The documents are in PDF format and will open in a new window.

Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI)

The FOI establishes a general right of access to information held by Public Authorities subject to certain exemptions. It places a duty on each Public Authority to maintain a Publication Scheme approved by the Information Commissioner that describes the information the Authority intends to publish and whether the information will be made available free of charge or on payment.

NS&I Information Charter

NS&I is committed to safeguarding the privacy of any personal information about you that we need so that we can provide efficient services for you and to maintain our records. The NS&I principles below explain how we look after that information.

When we ask you for personal information, we promise:

to only ask for what we need, and not to collect too much or irrelevant information;
to protect it and make sure nobody has access to it who shouldn’t;
to let you know if we share it with other organisations, - and if you can say no;
to never sell your data to another organisation;
to update our records when you inform us that your details have changed;
to train our staff on their privacy of information obligations;
to continue to review and assess the quality of our data;
to make sure we don’t keep it longer than necessary;

In return, we ask you to:

give us accurate information; and
tell us as soon as possible if your personal information has changed, such as a new address or change of name.

This helps us to keep your information reliable and up to date.

You can get more details on:

how to find out what information we hold about you and how to ask us to correct any mistakes;
agreements we have with other organisations for sharing information;
circumstances where we can pass on your personal information without telling you, for example, to prevent and detect crime or to produce anonymised statistics;
our instructions to staff on how to collect, use and delete your personal information;
how we check the information we hold is accurate and up to date; and
how to make a complaint

Further information can be found by clicking here.

When we ask you for information, we adhere to all relevant legislation, including the Data Protection Act 1998. For independent advice about data protection, privacy and data-sharing issues, you can contact the Information Commissioner at: Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Phone: 08456 30 60 60 or 01625 54 57 45 Fax: 01625 524510
Website: www.ico.gov.uk

NS&I also comply with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Please view the NS&I publication scheme.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: customerenquiries@nsandi.com or write to us at NS&I, Mythop Road, Blackpool, FY1 9YP

Procurement procedures & contracts

NS&I must follow the European Public Contracts Directive (2004/18/EC) which applies to public authorities including, amongst others, government departments, local authorities and NHS Authorities and Trusts. The Directive set out detailed procedures for the award of contracts whose value equals or exceeds specific thresholds. Details of the thresholds, applying from 1st January 2008 are given as £90,319 for supplies and services and £3,497,313 for works. Thresholds are net of VAT.

Internally within NS&I, we have set a threshold of £75,000 at which we competitive tender and advertise through OJEU. OJEU stands for the Official Journal of the European Union (previously called OJEC - the Official Journal of the European Community). This is the publication in which all contracts from the public sector which are valued above a certain financial threshold according to EU legislation, must be published. These can be accessed online at www.tendersdirect.co.uk. A charge will be applicable for accessing this information.

Below the OJEU thresholds, NS&I conduct either a formal or informal tender process. These thresholds have been agreed with NS&I’s internal auditors.

A list of NS&I contractors with a contract value of £90,000 or more can be accessed here.

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