Better Regulators League Table
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The League Table in Numbers
Out of 65 ‘prescribed persons’ in the League Table:
Annual Reporting Duties for 2019
| Name of Regulator | Sector | Compliance Star Rating | Published a report | Reported number of whistleblowing disclosures | Are there details on the regualtory action they have taken | Have they provided a summary of the regualtory impact from disclosures | Overall Compliance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audit Scotland | Business, finance or fraud & Local Authorities | 4 |  | | | | Compliant |
| Care Inspectorate | Healthcare & Social Care | 4 | | | | | Compliant |
| Care Quality Commission (CQC) | Healthcare & Social Care | 4 | | | | | Compliant |
| Criminal Cases Review Commission | Police and Justice | 1 | |  | | | Compliant |
| Children’s Commissioner for England | Children's interest | 3 | | | |  | Partial |
| Children’s Commissioner for Wales | Children's interest | 4 | | | | | Compliant |
| Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) | Consumer protection | 3 | | | | | Partial |
| Commissioner for Children and Young People in Scotland | Children's interest | 3 | | | | | Partial |
| Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland | Ethics | 1 | | | | | Compliant |
| Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) | Business, finance or fraud | 3 | | | | | Partial |
| Food Standards Scotland | Food Standards | 4 | | | | | Compliant |
| FRC (Financial Reporting Council Limited) | Business, finance or fraud | 3 | | | | | Partial |
| Food Safety Agency (FSA) | Food Standards | 4 | | | | | Compliant |
| General Chiropractic Council | Healthcare | 4 | | | | | Compliant |
| General Dental Council (GDC) | Healthcare | 4 | | | | | Compliant |
| General Medical Council (GMC) | Healthcare | 4 | | | | | Compliant |
| General Optical Council | Healthcare | 4 | | | | | Compliant |
| General Osteopathic Council | Healthcare | 4 | | | | | Compliant |
| General Pharmaceutical Council | Healthcare | 4 | | | | | Compliant |
| Health and Care Professions Council | Healthcare & Social Care | 4 | | | | | Compliant |
| Health Education England | Healthcare | 2 | | | | | Partial |
| Healthcare Improvement Scotland | Healthcare & Social Care | 4 | | | | | Compliant |
| Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) | Business, finance or fraud & Tax | 2 | | | | | Partial |
| Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) | Data protection and freedom of information | 3 | | | | | Partial |
| Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) | Police and Justice | 0 | | | | | Warning |
| NHS Improvement | Healthcare | 4 | | | | | Compliant |
| National Crime Agency (NCA) | Police and Justice | 0 | | | | | Warning |
| National Guardian's Office (NGO) | Healthcare | 4 | | | | | Compliant |
| NHS Counter Fraud Authority | Healthcare | 3 | | | | | Partial |
| NHS England | Healthcare | 4 | | | | | Compliant |
| NSPCC (The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) | Children's interest | 3 | | | | | Partial |
| Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) | Healthcare | 4 | | | | | Compliant |
| Ofcom (The Office of Communications) | Broadcasting and Communications | 1 | | | | | Compliant |
| Office for Nuclear Regulation | Health and Safety | 4 | | | | | Compliant |
| Office for Rail and Road | Health and Safety & Transport | 2 | | | | | Partial |
| Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) | Charities | 4 | | | | | Compliant |
| Ofgem (The Gas and Electricity Markets Authority) | Utilities | 4 | | | | | Compliant |
| Ofqual (The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation) | Education | 4 | | | | | Compliant |
| Ofsted (Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills) | Education & Social Care | 3 | | | | | Partial |
| Ofwat (Office for the Water Services Regulation Authority) | Utilities | 4 | | | | | Compliant |
| Older People’s Commissioner | Social Care | 1 | | | | | Compliant |
| Public Services Ombudsman for Wales | Business, finance or fraud | 3 | | | | | Partial |
| Qualifications Wales | Education | 4 | | | | | Compliant |
| Registers of Scotland | Housing | 1 | | | | | Compliant |
| Regulator of Social Housing | Housing | 1 | | | | | Compliant |
| Revenue Scotland | Business, finance or fraud & Tax | 1 | | | | | Compliant |
| Scottish Housing Regulator | Housing | 4 | | | | | Compliant |
| Scottish Social Services Council | Social Care | 4 | | | | | Compliant |
| SFO (The Director of the Serious Fraud Office) | Police and Justice | 4 | | | | | Compliant |
| Single Source Regulations Office | Defence procurement | 1 | | | | | Compliant |
| Social Care Wales | Social Care | 1 | | | | | Partial |
| Auditor General for Wales | Business, finance or fraud & Local Authorities | 4 | | | | | Compliant |
| Bank of England (also known as the Prudential Regulation Authority) | Business, finance or fraud | 4 | | | | | Compliant |
| Certification Officer | Trade unions | 1 | | | | | Compliant |
| Charity Commission for England and Wales | Charities | 4 | | | | | Compliant |
| Scottish Cases Review Commission | Police and Justice | 3 | | | | | Partial |
| Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) | Transport | 2 | | | | | Partial |
| National Audit Office (NAO) | Business, finance or fraud & Local Authorities | 4 | | | | | Compliant |
| Environment Agency | Environment | 4 | | | | | Compliant |
| Health and Safety Executive (HSE) | Health and Safety | 3 | | | | | Partial |
| Pensions Regulator | Pensions | 3 | | | | | Partial |
| Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) | Environment | 1 | | | | | Compliant |
| Scottish Information Commissioner (SIC) | Data protection and freedom of information | 1 | | | | | Compliant |
| Water Industry Commission for Scotland | Utilities | 1 | | | | | Compliant |
| Welsh Revenue Authority | Tax | 1 | | | | | Compliant |
More information about the League Table:
Our Better Regulator League Table ranks how the various regulators are doing with the new reporting duty around whistleblowing. The Government made it compulsory for regulators to be more transparent and report on all cases of whistleblowing they have received each year and details of action/impact they have taken. The reporting duty applies to the regulators classed as a Prescribed Person under the whistleblowing law – the Public Interest Disclosure Act. The Government maintains a list of all prescribed person regulators. A Prescribed Person is a body you can make a whistleblowing disclosure to, such as a regulator. Raising a concern to one of these bodies is an easier route for whistleblowers to gain legal protection against detriment or dismissal than a wider disclosure, such as to the press. The most powerful regulators on the list include the Financial Conduct Authority, Care Quality Commission, National Audit Office. A full list of those regulators can be found here. There are some bodies who are Prescribed Persons but are nonetheless excluded from publishing annual whistleblowing reports, and include:
- MPs
- Ministers of the Crown (UK, Scottish and Welsh ministers)
- the European Securities and Market Authority
- an auditor appointed by smaller Local Authorities
In the interests of making the Better Regulator League Table easy to view we have excluded large local authorites who are Prescribed Persons. The League Table captures the level of compliance for the remaining bodies who are required to report in this area.
The regulators who have to report each year must provide the following anonymised information:
- The number of whistleblowing disclosures made
- A narrative on the action taken in relation to whistleblowing disclosures made
- A narrative on the impact of whistleblowing disclosures
This approach is to encourage not just a report on the number of whistleblowing concerns, but also to examine what action is taken and how this impacts on the way the regulators work. These three elements are the core of the reporting duty. It is also a requirement for regulators to publish their reports in an appropriate way – typically regulators have published reports as stand alone documents or webpages on their websites or as part of their annual report.
The Better Regulator League Table scores the various regulators on their level of compliance in reporting on whistleblowing rules.
Comparing the number of whistleblowing disclosures received is almost meaningless given the difference in size of some of the bodies, for example, there is no real comparison between the Care Quality Commission who receive thousands of concerns, from the Certification Officer who oversees the election process amongst Trade Unions. What our Better Regulator League Table sets out to do is compare which regulators are /are not complying with the new reporting duty, which came into force for the first time in 2018.
Star System
We’re awarding stars for compliance across the four categories that make up the reporting duty. Four stars is the maximum a regulator can receive if they are doing a good job. The four categories are
1 star – If the regulator has published a whistleblowing report
2 star – If they have reported on the number of whistleblowing disclosures received
3 star – If they have provided a narrative of actions taken over whistleblowing concerns
4 star – If they have provided a narrative of the impact these whistleblowing concerns have had on their operation as a regulator.
Traffic Light Dots
The Better Regulator League Table is comprised of the four elements of the reporting duty (listed above).
= is awarded where a regulator is compliant with a particular element, while 
= indicates where a regulator is not being full compliant. A red dot will mean that one of the four elements is missing from the published report.
⚠= indicates regulators who have published a report but have received no disclosures, these regulators are technically compliant with all parts of the duty but only because they have received no whistleblowing concerns. We have used to indicate this situation as it questionable as to whether these regulators could be doing more to promote whistleblowing in their sector. They have also received one star for publishing the report.
Final Judgement
Finally those that are compliant across the four elements, or have reported no disclosures will be judged as Complete, meaning completely compliant. While those who are not compliant with a particular element of the duty will be tagged as Partial, meaning partially compliant with the duty. Regulators who have not published a report, have been given a Warning as they have not complied with the reporting duty.