The total cost of the FCA’s just unveiled new website is forecast to be £536,945, Financial Planning Today can reveal.

In late April, the regulator declined to say how much had been spent, after it announced the revamped site was set to go live. But a Freedom of Information request from FP Today has found that the total cost of the FCA website project until 29 April was £418,257 - including VAT. Officials said this would rise to £536,945 in total once the project is completed.

The bulk of the cost so far - £319,380 – was spent on paying web development company Zoocha. Annual costs for ongoing maintenance of the site are estimated at £48,960 and upkeep for the platform, including provision of infrastructure, at £56,944 each year.

The FOI figures also showed that the total cost of the creation of the FCA websites, as part of the transfer from predecessor body the FSA, has been £1.4 million so far.

The breakdown of the costs are outlined below:

The internal FCA team have written the content, worked on the design and project managed the process. Financial Planning Today asked whether any Financial Planners were asked for their views on the design and how to make it more relevant and easy to access in terms of information about financial advice and Financial Planning.

The FCA’s response stated: “We have had financial advisers take part in user testing and complete our online surveys over the last two years. We have also consulted the trade body APFA.” FP Today also asked if consideration was given to creating a particular dedicated section of the website specifically for the needs of Paraplanners and Financial Planners.

The FCA stated: “The ‘Firms’ section of the FCA website is predominately for regulated firms or firms applying for authorisation. The FCA does not regulate Paraplanners or Financial Planners so there is no dedicated section.”

The FCA had told users the new design will it make it easier to find, understand and complete regulatory tasks and information and stated the site would work equally well on a desktop PC or a tablet or mobile. Dedicated pages for all existing types of firm have been created and these will display sector-specific information such as news, publications and events.

The FCA said it had been told various times that information about UK and international financial markets was not easy to find. Therefore, officials said, the new site will carry a dedicated markets section with a link on the main menu, which will be organised into a more logical layout. The revamped publications and news sections will be live in September.

Visitors “should have a much improved experience”, the FCA said, adding it had spoken with a “wide cross section of website users, including firms and consumers.”

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