MOSL reins in budget uplift plans in its final business plan for 2020-21

MOSL has slimmed down its proposed budget increase for 2020-21 from 7.5% to 4.7%.

The market operator has published a post-consultation final business plan for the year for wholesalers and retailers to vote on at a meeting on the 31 January. In the plan, it trims the budget increase earmarked in the draft plan from 7.5% (£11.5m) to 4.7% (£11.2m) “following a strong challenge from our members”. MOSL explained: “This recognises the cost pressures being faced by trading parties and the need to limit any increase in direct costs as far as possible.”

It will meet the cut through recruitment and salary adjustments and cuts to assumed CMOS maintenance costs “based on our current view of the contract negotiations with CGI and the scope of the new contract which will take effect on 1 April 2020”.

Other changes to the draft plan included:

• exclusion of bilaterals solution costs from the 2020-21 budget after “a strong challenge from a number of our members that the business case needs to be clearer before solution costs should be committed to”; and

• allocation of an additional £50,000 to the market audit budget, after some trading parties said MOSL’s cost cuts for its planned switch to a more risk based, targeted market audit were too deep.