FOI release

RFI 118 - Enforcement

Published 24 February 2026

RE: Freedom of information request - Enforcement activities

Thank you for your freedom of information request received on 9 January 2026 in which you asked for the following information:

“Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I request the following recorded information held by the SSRO regarding its enforcement activities for the reporting period 1 April 2024 to 31 December 2025. I am requesting existing administrative data and decision records, not the creation of new analysis.

Please disclose the total number of Penalty Notices (under Section 52 of the Defence Reform Act 2014) issued to “Qualifying Defence Contractors” during the specified period. If the number in question 1 is zero (or significantly lower than the number of identified reporting errors), disclose the date of the specific Board Meeting or Executive Committee meeting where the decision was taken not to pursue financial penalties for the reporting failures identified in the 2025 Compliance Bulletin.

Please disclose the title and date of the current internal guidance document instructed to caseworkers regarding “Commercial Sensitivity and Relationship Management” when considering enforcement action.

Please confirm the number of referrals received from the Ministry of Defence requesting a “Contract Profit Rate Adjustment” (under Section 35) in the year 2025, and the number of those referrals that resulted in a formal adjustment determination. I look forward to your response within the statutory timeframe.”

We have considered your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (‘FOI Act’). Under the FOI Act, you have the right to:

• know whether the Single Source Regulations Office (‘SSRO’) holds the information you require; and
• be provided with that information (subject to any exemptions under the FOI Act which may apply).

We respond below in relation to each of the three matters in your request in the order in which you raised them.

Number of penalty notices

I can confirm the SSRO does not hold information on the total number of penalty notices issued to qualifying defence contractors between 1 April 2024 and 31 December 2025. The power to issue penalty notices under the Defence Reform Act 2014 (the Act) rests with the Secretary of State (not the SSRO) under the provisions of section 32 of the Act. There is no obligation on the Secretary of State to disclose information to the SSRO regarding the penalty notices that have been issued to qualifying defence contractors, including the total number of penalty notices so issued. For this reason, the SSRO does not hold information on the number of penalty notices issued to qualifying defence contractors.

The decision whether to issue a penalty notice is the sole preserve of the Secretary of State. I can confirm the SSRO does not hold information on the date of any meetings, including Board Meetings or Executive Committee meetings, where decisions were taken not to pursue financial penalties for reporting failures identified in the 2025 Compliance Bulletin.

Internal guidance when considering enforcement action

As the SSRO is not empowered to undertake regulatory enforcement action under the Act or the Single Source Contract Regulations 2014 (the Regulations) it has not prepared any internal documents to guide such decisions. I can confirm the SSRO does not hold information on the title and date of any current internal guidance document instructed to caseworkers regarding “Commercial Sensitivity and Relationship Management” when considering enforcement action.

Referrals to the SSRO

I can confirm no referral under section 35 has been received by the SSRO in the year 2025 from the Ministry of Defence (MOD) requesting a contract profit rate adjustment. You may be interested to know that details of accepted referrals are published on the SSRO’s website at: Accepted referrals – Single Source Regulations Office.

On account of the type of information you have requested, you may wish to submit your request to the MOD. Information on how to request information from the MOD is available on its website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-defence/about/publication-scheme#how-to-make-an-official-request-for-information.

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request by the SSRO, you have the right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be submitted within two months of the date of receipt of the response to your original letter and should be addressed to: enquiries@ssro.gov.uk.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications on this matter.

Yours sincerely

Joanne Watts Chief Regulatory Officer