On 9 May 2017, the FCA published a policy statement on appropriate qualification exam standards (PS17/11).

The FCA published a consultation paper (CP16/24) on this last year and this represents made text.

Points of interest arising:

• Respondents unanimously wanted a reduction in the number of "regulation and ethics" AES from three to two, to avoid duplication and increase relevance.  
• Although respondents welcomed the idea that the qualification tables in Appendix 4.1 to the Training and Competence sourcebook (TC Appendix 4.1), could be simplified.  The FCA intends to add new guidance, rather than simplification.  They will work towards separating the current qualifications in TC Appendix 4 from legacy qualifications to make it easier to read.
• The FCA will not change the appropriate qualification for equity release due to mixed feedback. Most respondents did not think change would help.

The final revised version has been published on the FCA's exam standards webpage. 

The FCA said that it expected that qualification providers will regularly review their "qualification syllabus".  You would hope so!  The rule changes take immediate effect.

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