The proposal is for an ongoing condition of registration which is not an initial condition. This means that a provider would not need to satisfy the proposed condition in order to be registered. However, conduct covered by the scope of the proposed condition may also fall within scope of conditions of registration which are initial conditions and which therefore must be satisfied for registration to be granted, for example condition C1 on consumer protection is particularly relevant to contractual offers.
It is also important to note that conduct by a provider which took place before registration would be subject to the proposed condition in the following ways (assuming a final decision was taken to impose the condition):
- the prior conduct could indicate that there are risks that the provider may breach the condition in the future and the OfS may consider regulatory action to mitigate that risk, e.g. the imposition of a specific condition of registration or enhanced monitoring; and
- if the prior conduct formed part of a series of events that were ongoing on or after the date the provider was registered on the OfS Register. This aspect can be explained by the following example:
If the OfS decided to grant registration to a provider with effect from 10 May 2020 and then took a decision to impose condition E6 with effect from 10 June 2020, any prior conduct of the provider could be subject to enforcement action under condition E6 in the following situations:
- The prior conduct was commenced on or after 10 May 2020; or
- The prior conduct formed part of a series of events that were ongoing on or after 10 May 2020 but concluded before 10 June 2020; or
- The prior conduct formed part of a series of events that were ongoing on or after 10 May 2020 and continued on or after 10 June 2020.
