SM&CR and Section 250: Where the Regimes Intersect

No. SM&CR and Section 250 use different tests and cover different populations. SM&CR focuses on who holds a named FCA role (SMF or Certified Function) at an authorised firm. Section 250 uses a functional test — whether an individual plays a significant role in managing a substantial part of an organisation's activities (any activities, not just financial ones). An individual can be fully SM&CR compliant and still meet the s.250(3) test, or sit outside SM&CR entirely and meet it. The gap between the two populations is exactly what a Section 250 gap analysis identifies.

PS26/6 (FCA, 22 April 2026) simplified the SM&CR by reducing the Certified Persons population. Because the certified population shrinks while the s.250(3) functional-test population stays the same, the unmapped middle — individuals who meet s.250(3) but are not covered by SM&CR — grows after PS26/6. Firms that completed a gap analysis before PS26/6 should re-run it to ensure their analysis reflects the updated SM&CR baseline.

Section 250(3) defines a senior manager as an individual who plays a significant role in (a) the making of decisions about how the whole or a substantial part of the activities of the body corporate or partnership are to be managed or organised, or (b) the managing or organising of the whole or a substantial part of those activities. It is a functional test about organisational authority and decision-making scope — not job title, grade, or FCA registration. It covers all the organisation's activities, not only the financial or regulated ones.

Yes, though it is less common. SM&CR reaches some individuals (for example, certain Certification Regime holders) whose scope of authority within the organisation is specific and limited enough that the s.250(3) "significant role in managing a substantial part" test is not met. The tests are independent, and the mapping runs in both directions.