For readers · investors and lenders
Reading a UK SRS report: six questions
UK SRS reports are written for investors, lenders and other creditors, and the most useful information is often in the statements around the numbers.
Six questions get a reader from the cover to a judgement about how complete and how reliable a report is.
Tool · nothing is stored or sent
Work through a report question by question
The questions run from the frame of the report to its substance.
A report that answers all six has every part the rules expect, though that says nothing yet about the quality of its numbers.
A report that fails one has a gap a reader should ask about.
What the answers signal
Reading the signals, not just the numbers
An unreserved statement of compliance is a strong claim, because the Standards allow it only when every requirement is met.
A list of reliefs is normal in a first report and says nothing bad on its own.
An explanation that gives reasons and steps is the rule working as designed; one that gives neither is worth querying.
Scenario analysis described only in narrative may be proportionate for a small, less exposed company, but UK SRS S2 expects more from a highly exposed one.
Under ISSA (UK) 5000, “limited” and “reasonable” assurance promise very different things, so the level matters more than the fact of assurance.
The scope of these expectations comes from the FCA’s final rules; for the parts in full, see what a UK SRS report holds.
Frequently asked
Questions people ask
How do I read a UK SRS report?
Start with the statements around the disclosures: whether the company claims compliance, which reliefs it uses, what it explains, and whether anything was assured.
They tell you how much of the report is complete before you read a single metric.
What does limited assurance on a UK SRS report mean?
That the practitioner found nothing suggesting the assured information is materially misstated, after fewer procedures than a reasonable-assurance engagement.
Under ISSA (UK) 5000 a limited assurance report must say the assurance obtained is substantially lower than reasonable assurance.
Why might a UK SRS report have no Scope 3 figure?
In a listed company’s first period it may be using the FCA’s one-year Scope 3 relief, which it states.
After that, a missing Scope 3 figure should come with an explanation.
Is a UK SRS report that explains gaps non-compliant?
Not with the listing rule, which is comply or explain.
It cannot, though, make an unreserved statement of compliance with the Standard it has gaps against.
Sources
Primary sources
Every figure, date and status on this page traces to the instrument’s owner.
Secondary commentary is never the source for a number.
- Department for Business and TradeUK SRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information (25 February 2026)
The general Standard, read at the paragraph.
- Department for Business and TradeUK SRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures (25 February 2026)
The climate Standard, including Appendix C on transition.
- Financial Conduct AuthorityPS26/19: Aligning listed issuers’ sustainability disclosures with international standards (30 September 2026)
The final rules: comply or explain across UK SRS for UKLR 6, 14, 15, 16 and 22.
- Financial Conduct AuthorityPS26/19 — full text, including the made instrument (UKLR 6.6.6R(7A), (7B), (8) and UKLR TP 16)
Scope, timing, reliefs and the rule text itself.
- Financial Conduct AuthorityFCA Handbook, UKLR 6.6 — annual financial report (as from 1 January 2027)
The rule the new disclosure limbs sit in.
- Financial Conduct AuthorityDraft Technical Note 803.1 (September 2026, for consultation)
Draft guidance on what an explanation should contain; comments by 28 October 2026.
- Financial Reporting CouncilISSA (UK) 5000 General Requirements for Sustainability Assurance Engagements
¶15 effective date; ¶¶190, 198L and 198R on the two levels of assurance.
- Financial Reporting CouncilFRC assurance standards library
Records ISSA (UK) 5000 as published on 12 November 2025.
- GHG Protocol (WRI / WBCSD)Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard
The measurement method UK SRS S2 points to for Scope 1, 2 and 3.
- GHG Protocol (WRI / WBCSD)Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard
The fifteen categories an entity considers when measuring Scope 3.
- Department for Business and TradeConsultation response, Annex A — the tables of differences from IFRS S1 and S2
The authoritative list of UK departures; where a requirement is not in the table there is no difference.
- Task Force on Climate-related Financial DisclosuresRecommendations of the TCFD (June 2017)
The four-heading architecture both Standards keep.