The data, which was gained from a Freedom of Information (FOI) request from Parliament Street, revealed that between April 2021 and August 2021 a total of 5,850 new laptops were purchased by the FCA to support staff with hybrid working.

The financial watchdog did not disclose the exact spending due to commercial restrictions but did reveal that the spending on laptops ranged between £5m and £10m for laptops over the last 12 months.

The FCA also purchased 307 Samsung phones and 39 iPhones with the FCA stating that it had an ‘indicative range of the spend which, in this case, is £0- £100,000’. The FCA also confirmed that it had not purchased any tablets.

In addition, the FCA procured 5,500 Microsoft licenses for Office 365 in 2019. In 2020, they also procured 5,200 Microsoft licenses and in 2021, 5,300 Microsoft licenses. The FCA stated that it did not use the video call company Zoom.