1. Background

The Accelerated Settlement Taskforce (AST), chaired by Charlie Geffen, was set up in December 2022 to examine the case for securities trades to be settled more quickly in the UK, such as moving to a ‘T+1’ standard settlement period. Their report was published on 28 March 2024, recommending that the UK should move to T+1 by the end of 2027.

Following this, a new ‘Technical Group’, chaired by Andrew Douglas, was set up to determine the detailed technical and operational changes that would be necessary for the UK to implement the move to T+1.

The group’s report was published on 6 February. The report recommended that the UK should move to T+1 on 11 October 2027. It also made 12 ‘critical’ and 26 ‘highly recommended’ actions for industry participants, the government and the UK financial services regulators to implement to deliver a successful transition to T+1.

A key recommendation in the report was for the Taskforce to continue its work up until the transition to T+1 in the UK, to oversee implementation of the recommendations and continue to provide an independent industry forum to identify and resolve issues for the benefit of the UK market.

The government has accepted all the recommendations made to it, including to legislate for T+1 to be mandatory from 11 October 2027, and agreed that the Taskforce should continue until the transition to T+1 in the UK has been successfully implemented. These Terms of Reference update the objectives and governance structure of the Taskforce as it moves into the next phase of its work.

2. Objectives

The group shall:

1. Oversee and project manage the implementation of the recommendations in the Technical Group report, establishing these as a T+1 ‘code of conduct’ for market participants to follow and establishing T+1 as the settlement standard in the UK from 11 October 2027

2. Promote awareness of the project and the actions that market participants need to take in preparation for the transition to T+1, including through domestic and global outreach

3. Identify any new issues or findings as the project develops, such as lessons which may be learned from the North American move to T+1 over the longer-term, and recommend any further actions required to address them

4. Progress the other specific recommendations in the report that are for the Taskforce itself to take forward, including creating an industry ‘playbook’ for firms to follow when making the transition to T+1 and a ‘command centre’ to centralise communications during the transition

5. Engage with HM Treasury, the Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England as they take any necessary legal and regulatory actions required to facilitate the transition

6. Monitor the short-term impact of the transition to T+1, identify any issues and recommend actions to resolve them

3. Timeline

The government has asked the Taskforce to continue until the transition to T+1 in the UK has been successfully implemented. This should include sufficient time after the transition has taken place to assess the short-term impacts.

The chair is asked to produce a report following the move to T+1 to summarise the short-term impacts. This may also include any further actions the Taskforce may recommend for industry participants as they continue to operate in a T+1 environment.

4. Governance

The government has confirmed that Andrew Douglas will chair the Taskforce in its next phase.

The Taskforce will consist of an oversight committee and different workstreams with specific areas of focus as determined by the chair. The chair shall invite representatives from relevant sectors of the financial services industry as appropriate to be members of the committee and/or the workstreams, and ensure that their views are taken into account.

Representatives from HM Treasury, the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority may attend meetings of the committee.

To promote coordination and sharing of information and best practice, the chair shall invite international observers who are leading similar work to attend meetings of the committee. This may include relevant industry chairs from the EU and Switzerland.

The chair should liaise with the government and the financial services regulators where appropriate to facilitate a coherent approach.

Euroclear UK and International (EUI) have agreed to provide secretariat and communications support to the Taskforce from February 2025, as agreed with the chair. To provide clarity on the continued independence of the group the Taskforce should implement a set of working practices supplementing these Terms of Reference to govern EUI’s role in providing secretariat support and other matters.