Figures show Brexit process has not led to a spike in FCA travel costs - regulator has previously complained of being shut out of talks.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) spent a total of £1.99m on travel in the UK and abroad in the year leading up to the Brexit referendum on 23 June 2016 and then £2.12m in the 12 months after the vote.

European regulators
The relatively small rise in travel costs indicates that the regulator has not dramatically increased its travel within Europe in order to take part in meetings with other European regulators.

This follows previous comments from FCA chief executive officer Andrew Bailey that the watchdog is not party to all discussions with European regulators about the UK leaving the EU.

The figures, released to Insurance Age after a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, are also in line with the £1.93m the FCA spent on travel in 2014.

The pattern appears to have continued up to the present day. The total travel cost for the nine months to 31 March 2018 was £1.76m.

Looking at the average monthly spend it is likely that the figure for the full year will be similar to recent years indicating that the regulator’s travel to attend meetings in Europe has not increased recently.

Passporting
In December last year Bailey also urged the government to solve the problem of passporting rights post Brexit, stating these are “critical” to maintaining insurance contracts after the UK leaves the EU.

In its Business Plan for 2017/18 the FCA predicted a total EU exit cost of £30m to the regulator.

The FCA detailed that travel costs include train, air, hotel, car hire and taxis.

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