Prescribed Persons (Reports on Disclosures of Information) Regulations 2017 – Annual Report 2025/26
Executive Summary
The Bank of England and PRA, as Prescribed Persons under the Public Interest Disclosure (Prescribed Persons) Order 2014, have published their whistleblowing annual report for the period 1 April 2025 – 31 March 2026, in line with the Prescribed Persons (Reports on Disclosures of Information) Regulations 2017. The report confirms continued operationalisation of whistleblowing channels, the assessment of disclosures under PIDA, and the systematic sharing of all disclosures (protected and non‑protected) with supervisors, which materially elevates supervisory and enforcement risk for PRA‑regulated firms.
What Changed
- - Prescribed Persons reporting obligations under the Prescribed Persons (Reports on Disclosures of Information) Regulations 2017 continue to apply, requiring the Bank and PRA to publish, within six months of the period end, written annual reports con
- For the 2025/26 period, the Bank and PRA report that 271 disclosures were received and assessed against the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 and their own statutory requirements to determine whether they qualified as protected disclosures.
- Of the 271 disclosures, 257 were reasonably believed to be protected disclosures within Part IVA of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 and within the Bank’s and PRA’s remit as Prescribed Persons, demonstrating a high proportion of whistleblowing
- Fourteen disclosures were assessed as not protected, including disclosures about firms not regulated by the Bank or PRA, issues outside the Bank’s or PRA’s regulatory remit, and individuals who do not meet the definition of a whistleblower, clarifyin
- Regardless of statutory protection status, the Bank and PRA’s whistleblowing team provided supervisory colleagues with all disclosures (protected and non‑protected) for consideration or for information, embedding whistleblower information directly in
- The report reiterates the statutory requirement that annual Prescribed Person reports must not contain information that would identify the worker making the disclosure or the employer/other person about whom the disclosure is made, reinforcing confid
Suggested Considerations
- Establish clear internal processes for responding when the PRA or Bank contacts the firm following a whistleblowing disclosure, including immediate escalation to Compliance, Legal, and relevant Senior Managers, coordinated responses, and robust documentation of remedial actions.
Key Dates
Compliance Impact
Non‑compliance with robust whistleblowing arrangements and failure to address issues raised by whistleblowers can significantly increase prudential and conduct risk, trigger intensified supervisory scrutiny, and lead to enforcement action, including fines, business restrictions, and personal consequences for senior management under SMCR. The fact that all whistleblowing disclosures, including non‑
Who is Affected
References
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Summary
The Bank of England and PRA are both Prescribed Persons as defined by Parliament under The Public Interest Disclosure (Prescribed Persons) Order 2014.