consumer focus draft annual plan 2010-11 for consultation

Consumer Focus Draft Annual Plan 2010-11 for consultation

9 November 2009 – 9 February 2010

Draft Annual Plan 2010-11 for consultation 2

Contents

Chairs’ foreword 3

Our annual plan 4

Work programmes for 2010-11 8

Consumer Focus 9

Consumer Focus Scotland 20

Consumer Focus Wales 31

Consumer Focus Post (Northern Ireland) 43

Supporting and empowering consumers 45

Partnership projects 48

Strengthening our capacity to deliver results 51

Pride in Performance 55

Funding and risks 57

How to respond and the way forward 58

Questions for stakeholders 59


Chairs’ foreword

When Consumer Focus was established in October 2008, we had an 18-month start-up

plan. This was designed to take us from the foundations built by our predecessor

organisations to a fully-functioning organisation with an unprecedentedly wide remit, able

to achieve a fair deal for consumers across the whole economy.

We also made a commitment to develop and champion creative solutions which really

help people, especially those who are more vulnerable.

We have made real progress towards those aims and now need to look ahead to

maximise our impact on consumers’ lives in the next period of our organisation's

development.

This document is the first annual plan in our corporate planning cycle for 2010-13. Our

corporate plan explains who we are, sets out the challenges we face (especially in light of

the recession), and our strategic aims over the next three years.

This annual plan sets out our key work areas for 2010-11 and our proposed forward work

programme for each part of Consumer Focus:

Consumer Focus

Consumer Focus Scotland

Consumer Focus Wales

Consumer Focus Post (Northern Ireland)

We invite you to let us know about any areas you think we’ve missed or could improve

upon. Our consultation period runs from 9 November to 9 February 2010 and includes

stakeholder events in Cardiff, Glasgow and London.

For more details see ‘How to respond and the way forward’ and a list of consultation

questions at the back of this document.

We would welcome your contribution so that we can ensure our annual plan is as robust

as possible in order that consumers increasingly receive a fair deal.

Larry Whitty

Chair, Consumer

Focus

Douglas Sinclair

Chair, Consumer

Focus Scotland

Vivienne Sugar

Chair, Consumer

Focus Wales

Rick Hill

Chair, Consumer

Focus Post

(Northern Ireland)


Our annual plan

In October 2008, the creation of Consumer Focus coincided with the emergence of the

most testing conditions for consumers in recent times. We approach the coming year

determined to design and deliver a programme of work that will stand up to these

conditions and address the key challenges facing consumers.

In preparing this draft Annual Plan we have set out to take full advantage of our ability to

work across different markets and services, across different regulatory regimes and

across different national and international jurisdictions.

We have a responsibility to safeguard and empower consumers, in line with our statutory

obligations. We have a specific responsibility to identify areas of detriment for vulnerable

and disadvantaged consumers. As well as undertaking work that benefits all consumers,

our proposed work for 2010-11 includes projects targeted at various disadvantaged and

vulnerable groups.

Consumer Focus is also concerned with the interests of consumers in the future.

Sustainability is one of our key duties; issues such as resource efficiency, waste

minimisation and mitigation of, and adaption to, climate change form part of our mission.

We strive to embed sustainability as an essential component in everything we do. This

involves both policies for changing the behaviour of companies and the priorities of

regulators and measures to encourage (and make easier) sustainable behaviour by

consumers themselves.

One of our four strategic aims (set out in our Corporate Plan) is to harness the appetite of

consumers to adopt more sustainable lifestyles. We therefore will also pursue specific

projects that tackle waste, climate change and public health, and projects to provide

clearer signals to consumers on sustainable choices. The extent to which we realise this

is a key test of how successful we are as an organisation.

Throughout this Annual Plan we have addressed the need for strong consumer research,

for high quality and detailed responses to regulatory and legislative developments and to

increasingly empower consumers to act.

Our proposed work for 2010-11

Consumer Focus champions the needs of consumers across England, Wales and

Scotland and, for postal services, Northern Ireland. We are able to combine powerful

advocacy at the European, UK and GB level, while delivering full and ambitious work

programmes in each nation.

The 2010-11 work programmes fully reflect Consumer Focus’s statutory responsibilities,

evidence and our criteria for work planning. It ensures that our investments are

proportionate to the impact we can achieve in delivering a fair deal for consumers.


Work area summaries

A. A fair deal for energy consumers

Energy prices remain high and scenarios from Ofgem and others indicate that they may

rise more steeply yet as environmental and renewable obligations are reflected in

consumer bills. Energy remains the lowest-rated sector in the Consumer Confidence

Index1. Our Extra Help Unit continues to receive thousands of distressing cases from

consumers forced to cope with the threat, or the harsh reality of, disconnection from an

essential service.

The thrust of our proposals is to highlight inefficient market structures, tackle poor

corporate behaviour and resolve quality of service issues that operate to the detriment of

energy consumers in general and vulnerable and disadvantaged consumers in particular.

We aim to improve the customer service in the sector, maintain the commitment of

Government and others to ending fuel poverty and maximise the opportunities for

consumers to use energy in a more sustainable way while ensuring a fair recovery of

costs associated with a low carbon energy industry.

The low carbon agenda is critical to our work for energy consumers. We will advance

arguments for consumers to benefit from smarter metering, clearer billing, tariffs that

encourage more efficient energy use, the promotion of domestic renewables and ‘whole

house’ solutions for those in fuel poverty.

B. A fair deal for postal consumers

The past year has seen both the Post Office network and Royal Mail going through an

extended and painful process of restructuring, with immediate impacts on consumers and

small businesses in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Our statutory responsibilities cover both postal services and post offices. We will focus

our efforts on understanding the impact on consumers of significant changes to both

sectors. We will provide the evidence for a revitalised and innovative Post Office network

that meets consumer needs. We will also continue to work towards an effective and

efficient postal service that is affordable and meets the collection and delivery needs of

domestic and micro-enterprise postal consumers.

We will ensure that the process of transformation in both areas will be informed not only

by a powerful evidence base of consumer experience and expectation but also by an

agenda for innovation and change that meets consumer needs.

C. A fair deal in the financial services

The financial crisis and economic recession has removed access to affordable credit for

many consumers, certainly for those who need it most. It has put people’s homes in

jeopardy and plunged many consumers into serious debt. Financial services are another

sector that performs poorly according to the Consumer Confidence Index.

Our experience across different markets and services and our understanding of

consumer-centred policy making means that we will have an important contribution to

make to a successful reform agenda for the financial services markets.

1 The Consumer Conditions Survey is a major piece of research examining consumer experience

in the UK which asks consumers about their experience in 45 private sector markets. Consumer responses are aggregated and used to compile an overall Consumer Confidence Index, which provides the basis for comparing how consumers perceive the performance of a particular market against all others.


We will focus on a consumer agenda for regulatory reform and the impact of high cost

credit products on low income households.

To be successful we will need to work with stakeholders to understand and champion

ways in which the consumer interest can drive necessary changes to regulation and can

tackle the worst excesses of the high cost credit market.

D. Consumers and public services

In the context of severe pressure on the public purse and the current debates about the

reform of key public services, Consumer Focus will provide a clear perspective on how

consumers understand, navigate and benefit from public service provision.

With severe pressure on the public purse, there will continue to be important debates

about the reform of key public services. Consumer Focus will provide a clear perspective

on how consumers understand, navigate and benefit from well-designed public service

provision. We will seek to show how a focus on users' needs and experiences can be the

best way of maximising public value and facing up to hard choices.

Of course, this focus on public services will have a distinct national character in different

areas of Consumer Focus. We aim not only to drive improvements in each national

context but to learn and apply the lessons and examples of best practice that emerge

across public services in Britain.

E. Rights, regulation and redress

Consumer Focus will look across a range of markets to assess where consumer

detriment is greatest. In markets where competition has not delivered effective choice

and value or where consumer action has been unable to condition the behaviour of

market players, proportionate regulation and effective redress are critical to maintaining a

good level of consumer protection.

We propose to build on our ‘Rating the Regulators’ report to provide a positive and expert

perspective on how well-formed regulation - the right intervention but no more - can

enhance consumer welfare and provide broader economic benefits.

We propose a number of projects that address issues of digital inclusion and digital

rights. Our projects promote a fairer digital society. We will seek to maximise the benefits,

and minimise the risks, for consumers of the information society in which we live,

assessing and identifying issues of consumer detriment. We will work to reduce the

impact of the digital divide.

We will influence the large scale reforms of consumer law and civil justice systems at

home and in Europe to improve consumer protection and provide easier access to

dispute resolution and civil justice.


Responding to change

We will be strong advocates for consumers, using compelling evidence to make our case.

With limited resources and a wide remit, Consumer Focus must maintain a rigorous

process for prioritising work in order to deliver a fair deal for consumers in the most

effective and efficient manner.

The environment in which we operate is a challenging one. However, just because it is

challenging does not mean that those challenges will not change or grow. We recognise

the need to maintain flexibility in our approach so that we can effectively respond to

changes in the consumer environment across the nations that may occur throughout the

financial year.

If new or unexpected events occur, we will re-evaluate and balance our workload,

adopting new projects where necessary and discontinuing or postponing work that is no

longer relevant or deemed a lesser priority.

As well as today’s consumers, we are concerned with the interests, rights and

responsibilities of the consumers of tomorrow. In the face of the growing challenges of

climate change, resource scarcity and the threat to social cohesion, Consumer Focus is

working to ensure that consumer choice and behaviour increasingly reflect sustainable

patterns of consumption.

Sustainability in all respects – environmental, economic and social – is a particularly

important feature in our work on energy and significant in other areas such as food.

The sustainability dimension needs to feed into all our work; the aim being that both

business offers and consumer preferences make it easier for consumers to make more

sustainable choices.

As an organisation we are committed to operating in a manner that promotes sustainable

practices and will review regularly how we operate.


Work programmes for 2010-11

Consumer Focus; Consumer Focus Scotland; Consumer Focus Wales and Consumer Focus Post (Northern Ireland)

Work programmes for 2010-11

We set out the projects we think will have the most impact for consumers in 2010-11.

They are separated into four distinct programmes:

Consumer Focus



Consumer Focus Post (Northern Ireland)

This is the main area on which we would like your comments. Please tell us where you

think we can improve this draft plan, whether by adding new projects or removing or

changing proposed ones.


Consumer Focus


1. Vulnerable energy consumers

The number of households struggling to pay their energy bills has grown considerably

over the past five years. Current projections on energy prices raise the prospect of this

situation worsening. Consumer Focus will continue to champion the interests of

consumers who are in, or at risk of falling into, fuel poverty.

To mitigate some of the most serious consequences we have worked closely with Ofgem

on a fast track review of disconnection of vulnerable consumers and have begun a joint

review of supplier debt and disconnection policy and process.

For the coming year we propose to monitor closely the implementation of those debt and

disconnection recommendations, and of the levels and types of debt-related calls to

Consumer Direct and our dedicated Extra Help Unit.

We also propose producing consumer surveys, personal video testimony and research

on the consumer experience of relevant advisory services to give voice to the experience

of households in fuel poverty and maintain the commitment of Government and others to

a coherent strategy to tackle fuel poverty.

We aim to:

provide an authentic consumer voice to inform the continuing development of a coherent fuel poverty strategy

play a leading role among stakeholders in making the case for policies that deliver fairness in pricing, income and energy efficiency for fuel poor households

produce clear evidence of any material improvement in suppliers’ debt and disconnection practices

achieve improvements to the self-regulatory framework for vulnerable disconnections (ERA Safetynet)

Achieving these goals will help us to:

work towards an end to the disconnection of vulnerable consumers

ensure energy consumer debt is addressed at an earlier stage

provide better information for consumers at a disadvantage and advice providers

reduce the numbers of households suffering in fuel poverty


2. The structure of energy markets

There are stubborn questions about whether wholesale and retail energy markets are

sufficiently transparent and whether they function in the interests of consumers.

Consumer Focus will continue to monitor a number of key indicators of healthy

competition including the relationship between wholesale and retail energy prices and

levels of market transparency. We will also identify and pursue potential consumer

benefits within the various market governance and code mechanisms.

Given the relevance of various European legislative and regulatory initiatives, we will

work with the European Commission and other stakeholders to ensure a UK consumer

voice is heard during the implementation of new European policies, particularly in relation

to the third EU energy liberalisation package and the third EU Energy Security and

Solidarity Action Plan.

Within this work area we propose a specific project on consumer welfare within the Liquid

Petroleum Gas and Heating Oil markets. These are markets of limited choice and rising

consumer prices. We intend to build on scoping work in these unregulated markets to

translate market and stakeholder research into an advocacy project that would champion

the interests of consumers dependent on these fuels to heat their homes.

We aim to:

respond with authority to a range of competition and regulatory investigations and reviews into the operation of energy markets

provide a strong and clear consumer voice at all levels of industry rules and policy development

achieve changes to EU legislation and policy that reflect UK consumers’ needs and concerns

articulate a strong case for any appropriate regulatory and/or voluntary changes to reduce the cost of heating fuels for consumers and improve the energy efficiency of their homes

By contributing to key regulatory and market reviews we can promote:

greater market transparency and a reduction in barriers to entry

a healthily traded wholesale energy market

a reduction in the costs passed on to consumers

strong and proportionate regulation to prevent abuses of market power

the creation of a more competitive market for domestic heating fuels

3. Energy company performance

A critical role for Consumer Focus is to monitor and report on the quality of customer

service, the effectiveness of complaint handling and redress arrangements and the

provision of transparent pricing information. We will continue to interrogate other areas of

consumer detriment such as complex tariff structures, mis-selling and billing errors. We

will participate in public consultations to effectively implement the consumer protection

provisions in the third EU energy liberalisation package into national law. We propose to

work with industry and the regulator to identify best practice and encourage the industry

to improve existing policies and practices to drive up standards.


We aim to improve the functioning of energy retail markets for all consumers by enabling

them to use timely and accurate information to access the best deals and payment

methods, to use performance league tables and other means of comparing customer

service levels. We will build on this activity to develop an effective new consumer

empowerment model for energy consumers, drawing on work by predecessor bodies and

exploring existing practice in the wider advice provision community.

Within this work area we propose a specific project to investigate how well micro-

enterprises are served as energy consumers in relation to price, contact terms, customer

service and redress arrangements.

We aim to:

raise awareness of the Ofgem retail market remedies, the Consumer Focus ‘Confidence Code’ and ‘Knowledge Base’

target online empowerment resources for consumers and for other agencies

ensure consumers have access to up-to-date, meaningful and impartial performance information on their energy suppliers to allow them to make informed choice

This will help us to ensure that:

companies feel a real incentive to improve their complaint handling processes

redress arrangements are understood by consumers and advice agencies and work effectively

standards of customer service improve across the energy sector

consumers make better switching decisions and access the most appropriate energy deal available

4. Carbon transition and consumers

To achieve carbon reduction targets will require much greater investment in demand-side

solutions. This is likely to involve the installation of expensive energy efficiency products,

district heating and micro-renewables in existing homes and communities. Policy

solutions to the global challenge of climate change are being developed in European and

international forums, as well as through national programmes. We will engage with

relevant third sector stakeholders to develop and promote effective solutions for

consumers, including complementary measures that support adaptation to climate

change.

The scale of the changes proposed for energy use in British homes means that,

alongside the long-term benefits, there is significant scope for consumer detriment in

terms of cost, time, privacy, and safety. Working with our National Social Marketing

Centre, we propose gathering evidence on consumer attitudes to, and public acceptability

for the changes, in order to identify the obstacles to, and opportunities for, public

engagement in the low carbon transition, high cost energy efficiency measures and

household and community level renewable energy.

Consumer Focus will also work to limit disproportionate payments for people on low

incomes or in hard-to-heat homes. The work will involve assessing the size and incidence

of increases in energy costs and identifying the impact for different types of household.

The work will propose and test alternatives to the 'energy customer pays' model, taking

into account fairness, affordability and administrative simplicity. It will also look at different

sources eg 'beneficiary pays', 'tax-payer pays' and 'shareholder pays'.


We aim to:

challenge and test the orthodox arguments for cost-reflective charges on customers towards equity based charging for utilities

influence policy development in order to limit disproportionate disturbance and expense, especially in terms of payments for people on low incomes or in hard-to-heat homes

ensure relevant programmes are informed by real consumer attitudes and experience

ensure consumers’ needs are incorporated into planning for inevitable climate change

Over the longer term this work will enable:

a sound basis for an energy services market that delivers affordable energy services to all consumers

Government and agencies to better promote the uptake of carbon efficient and climate resilient homes


5. Universal Postal Service fit for consumers

The Universal Postal Service (UPS), and specifically the uniform pricing element,

provides a clear benefit for consumers, especially for rural and remote consumers.

Protecting the UPS has a distinct benefit for all consumers, particularly those who are

vulnerable or at a disadvantage.

We will represent postal consumers’ views so they are properly considered and

incorporated in policies or regulatory changes resulting from market reviews undertaken

by the postal regulator. This will include input into reviews of Price Controls. This work will

review existing procedures with regard to delivery and collection exceptions, and will

monitor the Universal Service Provider to ensure that quality of service, mail integrity and

complaint details are being kept to the required level.

We aim to deliver:

a strong evidence-based submission to the 2010 Price Control that encapsulates the views and experiences of postal consumers

a detailed review of existing procedures with regard to delivery and collection exceptions and ensuring that the system is fair for consumers

The longer term benefit will be:

a strengthened universal postal service which reflects market trends and, most importantly, the needs of postal consumers


6. Fair postal services outside the universal service obligation

This project will undertake research into those postal services which do not fall within the

definition of the UPS.

Specifically we will consider areas such as the levying of surcharges on orders by some

online and mail-order retailers and their couriers. It will examine the delivery convenience

schemes run by non-licensed operators and other companies which provide deliveries,

and highlight delivery convenience schemes which could be used by licensed operators.

We aim to deliver:

detailed interrogation of company justification for practice of surcharging

significant improvements in operator/consumer communication to ensure that charges are highlighted for consumers

improved customer understanding and awareness of mail opt-out schemes

This will lead to:

improved convenience and consistency of delivery for customers

an end to unjustified delivery surcharges

the ability for consumers to more easily opt out of receiving direct mail

7. A strong Post Office network

Consumer Focus has a statutory responsibility to monitor the number and location of post

offices. We also have a responsibility to operate a code of practice with Post Office Ltd

(POL) on closures, relocations and conversion to outreach facilities.

As part of the Post Office network change programme (NCP) an initial 500 outreach

services were established to maintain services, predominantly in smaller and remote rural

locations that could no longer support full-time branches.

We propose to use tracker surveys and impact studies to evaluate the impact of changes

to the Post Office network, including the long-term impact of the NCP on quality of service

at branches, changes in service provision and access to community services.

We also propose an advocacy programme to influence Government and POL decision-

making on the future of the network. We will promote new products and services which

consumers want and which could be offered through the Post Office network, and

promote the financial viability of the network while supporting specific consumer

objectives.

We also propose a specific project in this area. We will build on our work in 2009-10 to

increase understanding of the consumer detriment caused by problems in accessing the

post office and essential community services. We intend to use a specific example of a

community in transition, such as a market town. Recommendations will be made to

promote improved access to essential community services, taking account of common

and specific barriers to access and service provision.

We aim to ensure that:

there is a greater awareness of the code of practice and improvements in the capacity of local authorities to meet the needs of local consumers

decisions on changes to the network are properly informed by consumer engagement


we have a sound evidence base for an awareness campaign on the impact of closures on quality of service and community provision

improvements to outreach services and the potential rollout of the ‘essentials’ model, meet consumers’ needs

there is an increased awareness among relevant stakeholders of best practice examples of innovative provision of services, including co-location

These outcomes will help us to achieve:

a stronger code of practice providing an effective set of consumer protections

greater community resilience in the event of future changes in service provision

an improvement agenda for quality of service, queuing and other areas of detriment for Post Office consumers

increased and more innovative service offerings, including more Government and financial services offered through post offices

better understanding of the capability of social enterprise organisations to offer post office services through innovative means

8. Empowering postal consumers

Consumers need accurate and useful information, giving them the knowledge, tools and

skills to effectively advocate on their own behalf. Consumer Focus has a depth of

experience in the postal services and other sectors.

Harnessing the power of consumer action will place clear incentives on postal service

providers to drive up overall standards of service in the industry.

We propose to develop an effective new consumer empowerment model for postal

consumers, drawing on work by predecessor bodies and harnessing existing structures in

the wider advice provision community.

We will use our expertise to develop targeted online empowerment resources for

consumers and for other agencies (via the Partners’ site and Knowledge Base).

The impact will be:

unbiased consumer information that is accessible, factually correct and up to date

continued development of relationships and partnerships with advice agencies

Over the longer term this will drive:

improved overall service standards, and performance in the postal industry, as consumers are made more aware of their rights and put pressure on industry to deliver them

C. A fair deal in financial services

9. Regulation of financial services markets

The financial crisis of 2008 had many causes, but flaws in the design and operation of the

regulatory framework played their part. Our ‘Focus on Finance’ series asked important

questions about the banking crisis and the future shape and regulation of financial

services markets.


We propose to develop a strand of work that will enable us to contribute to the design and

delivery of future reforms so that the interests of consumers remain centre-stage. We will

contribute a consumer perspective on how a regulatory framework which is more

responsive to the consumer interest would generate greater competition, enhanced

financial capability, increased engagement by consumers with financial services and

reduced mis-selling of financial products.

Proactive, affirmative consumer protection is essential for the safety and stability of the

financial system. Consumer Focus will engage and collaborate in initiatives being

undertaken by the EU and international institutions aimed at restoring confidence and

improving financial markets which are likely to affect consumers in the UK.

Within this work area we propose a specific project to consider the impact of

consolidation in the personal banking sector. A perceived lack of competition raises

concerns about the ability of consumers to exercise real choice and thereby influence

market behaviour.

This project will develop interventions on both market structure and consumer behaviour.

In particular it would draw upon our cross-cutting work on behavioural economics to gain

insights on how to improve market function for consumers.

We aim to achieve:

a clear statement of the regulatory reforms that are necessary to protect consumers

a mechanism for consumer-centred public debate on the future regulation of financial services

strengthened consumer protection policies at the centre of European and international reforms for financial services regulation

The longer term benefits will be:

financial services regulation that is able to help rebuild consumer confidence

greater levels of informed switching among all groups of consumers

market reforms that bring greater levels of consumer power to bear on the personal banking sector

10. Consumers at a disadvantage in financial services markets

The consequence of the financial crisis and economic recession on consumers has been

profound. Access to affordable credit has dried up, levels of indebtedness are rising and

the pressure on many homeowners has become unbearable.

We propose to monitor the effectiveness of measures taken on secured and unsecured

lending. Our work will examine the practices of lenders, landlords, debt collection

agencies and debt management companies to ensure they are fair, reasonable and

proportionate, and do not cause undue harm and distress to vulnerable consumers.

Within this work area we will also focus on some of the manifestations of high cost credit.

Approximately 2.3 million people use home credit. Many of these are from the most

disadvantaged groups. Provision of lower-cost options is piecemeal and there is

insufficient capacity to meet the needs of the poorest group.

We will identify and evaluate viable alternatives of affordable lending in order for

Consumer Focus to formulate a coherent and authoritative response to the growth and

impact of high cost credit such as home credit and payday lending.


We aim to promote:

safeguards to prevent the recurrence of over-indebtedness

strengthened measures to prevent unscrupulous lending

raised public awareness of debt problems faced by disadvantaged groups

Over the longer term these will enable us to achieve:

increased protection for those at risk of losing their homes or unable to make ends meet under the burden of debt

improved access to affordable credit

more effective regulation of high cost credit


11. Understanding the consumer experience of public services

Our work on public services will have a distinct national character in each part of

Consumer Focus. The impact of it will be not only to drive improvements in each national

context but for Consumer Focus to learn and apply the lessons and examples of best

practice that emerge across public services in Britain.

We propose developing more effective ways of collecting data regarding consumer

experiences of public services, a focus on navigating public services and how digital

delivery might increase levels of consumer engagement.

There is an information gap about consumer detriment in public services. Using desk

research and stakeholder input we will identify and assess the current mechanisms for

recording data, and explore what value they have in revealing consumer experiences.

The findings will inform a project to develop more comprehensive, coherent and uniform

ways of collecting data on consumer experiences of public services.

Navigating public services and Government support can prove difficult for many

consumers, often more so for groups which have the greatest reliance on them. We

intend to undertake detailed research into the experiences of a specific user group in

accessing the key services they require. We will use the research to establish a model for

helping consumers get the information and services they need.

The latest Digital Britain plan promises to put all public services online. There is also a

growing focus on electronic management of people’s personal data, especially in

healthcare. Using research and workshops with consumers and stakeholders, we will

evaluate how the inherent potential of digital technologies can give consumers – including

those in marginalised communities - more voice and influence.

We aim to:

achieve a stronger understanding of consumer detriment in public services

gather compelling evidence of user experience in accessing and navigating public services

deliver a mechanism to provide open data on consumer experiences of public services

use the opportunity for stakeholders to assess the consumer benefits of increased engagement through digital delivery


This will help us to promote:

improvements to national and local digital public service policy and practice which make services easier to use

consumers who are empowered through new ways of online participation with public services

local authority and community led responses to essential service provision

improved data collection and management policies


12. Digital rights and digital inclusion

The Government aims to enable all consumers to benefit from using digital technology as

part of their daily lives and to have access to online provision of services, including public

services. Consumer Focus aims to ensure that a universal service commitment in

broadband will avoid creating a 'digital divide' through unfair differential access.

We propose an area of work that argues for a universal service obligation that recognises

affordability, accessibility and ease of use as being key issues for consumers. This work

will identify adverse impacts or exclusion issues and highlight them to Government.

We propose continuing our work to create an awareness of a coherent concept of

consumer digital rights, in the United Kingdom and across relevant European and

international jurisdictions. We will seek support for this approach from Government,

industry and consumer organisations. We will also examine each of the consumer rights

areas and appropriate regulatory frameworks and redress mechanisms, but will focus on

issues related to privacy and data security aspects of new technology. We will also

continue our work to achieve a fair balance between consumers and intellectual property

rights' holders.

We aim to achieve:

clear guidance to Government regarding possible unintended consequences of its digital strategy

stronger partnerships and cross-sector working

a coherent proposal to Government and industry for a digital rights charter

improvements to the European regulatory framework, and where relevant international agreements

These will help us to promote:

a fairer process in rolling out digital technology

increased protection for consumers and a decrease in any digital divide

a data protection regime that meets consumer needs

better public awareness and consumer empowerment in relation to their own digital rights

a fair balance between consumers and holders of intellectual property rights


13. Mobile and fixed line phones

We propose to continue and develop our current programme of advocacy around

identified areas of consumer detriment in the telecommunications sectors. This work will

be designed to complement and support the work programme of the Communications

Consumer Panel.

Additionally, we will address new and emerging issues of consumer detriment in the

mobile phone sector, identified through established stakeholder relationships and

intelligence and through our own expertise of customer service and switching issues in

other markets. In particular we will focus on complex tariffs, consumer information, ease

of switching provider, levels of customer service and complaint handling.

We aim to achieve:

a sound comparative basis to assess improvements in telecommunications providers on quality of customer service, tariff complexity and switching

greater level of consumer and advice agency awareness of hidden charges and tariff characteristics

By working with key stakeholders, we will promote:

measurable improvement in company performance in areas of greatest consumer detriment

consumers who are better informed, more active and able to identify the right deal for them

14. Consumer law

The European Commission published a draft Consumer Rights Directive (CRD) in 2008

to simplify, update and harmonise existing EU consumer protection legislation. In July

2009, the UK Government published a Consumer White Paper which aims to modernise

UK consumer law.

This work area will consider the gaps and weaknesses in our current domestic consumer

protection framework, building on work in relation to the CRD. We will also examine and

consider rights which are not adequately protected and will build on our previous work on

consumer collective redress to explore the best approach for embedding collective

redress in the Consumer Rights Bill.

We also propose to respond to the Civil Justice Council review of Lord Woolf’s Civil

Procedure Reforms. We will promote the interest of court users to the Civil Justice

Council and ensure that consumers’ interests are at the heart of the proposed reforms.

In particular we intend to explore regulatory gaps in our civil justice system and examine

the growing mediation market. We will also look at the lack of regulation of the third party

insurer market and the take-up and the use of legal expenses insurance.

We aim to:

radically improve the draft CRD to improve consumer rights

win the argument for the closure of the loophole which outlaws unfair commercial practices but does not give consumers a direct right of redress under the regulations

achieve clarity about whether Legal Expense Insurance is useful as a viable means of widening access for those who otherwise would not be able to afford mediation services


This will enable us to:

strengthen consumer protection law in the UK

provide consistent rights and redress protection across the goods and services consumers purchase

strengthen mediation industry standards to provide quality assurance and a complaint mechanism for consumers who are being encouraged to use it

achieve guidelines or regulations put in place to prevent third party insurers from undervaluing claims, particularly when there is an imbalance of power and no independent oversight

15. Regulation and redress

Consumer Focus's experience across a range of markets and services has shown that

well-formed regulation can maximise consumer interests and provide wider economic

benefits. In cases of market failure or detriment caused by market wide behaviours it is a

necessary way of protecting consumers from unfair treatment or poor standards of

company performance.

We propose to continue our work putting consumer interests at the heart of regulatory

practice, by building on our 'Rating the Regulators' work to identify good and bad practice

in regulatory design and delivery.

We will provide effective consumer input to public policy debate on the future direction for

regulation and specific regulatory reform initiatives.

At a basic level, consumers want their complaints dealt with efficiently, transparently and

fairly by those whom they complain about. We propose a specific project to benchmark

complaint handling across different markets and to identify why consumers give up on

complaints before they get a satisfactory resolution.

We aim to:

input to BIS’s new regulatory policy committee

engage with regulators with regard to their level of performance against key consumer criteria

ensure that Consumer Focus and others have a sound cross-market evidence base on complaint handling standards

ensure that Consumer Focus is better able to respond to how consumers actually engage with company redress procedures

This level of engagement will enable us to promote:

improved complaints service and redress schemes in poor performing sectors

improved approaches to better regulation




S1. Evaluating the effectiveness of the Energy Assistance Package for rural, remote and island consumers

The Energy Assistance Package (EAP) was launched by the Scottish Government in

April 2009, with the aim of reducing fuel poverty in Scotland. Successful delivery of the

EAP is critical to reducing fuel poverty in Scotland in general, and because households in

rural, remote and island Scotland face particular issues in this respect.

The number of households experiencing fuel poverty is influenced by the cost of energy,

household income and the energy efficiency of the building, as well as the circumstances

of the household itself. Long-term rises in the cost of energy, together with the current

recession, are expected to increase the numbers of households in fuel poverty. Rates of

fuel poverty are higher in rural areas than in urban parts of the country, because

households without access to mains gas generally have higher heating costs. In addition,

rural houses tend to be less easy to treat in terms of energy efficiency, and, especially in

northern Scotland, are located in areas where weather conditions increase the need for

heating.

The EAP provides a service for consumers in four stages:

1. energy efficiency advice is available to everyone

2. depending on household circumstances, a benefits check is provided. If appropriate, consumers are also made aware of the availability of social tariffs offered by their current energy supplier

3. consumers who are likely to be eligible for physical energy efficiency assistance measures from energy suppliers under the CERT (Carbon Emissions Reduction Target) scheme are referred to suppliers who provide that service

4. additional public sector funded measures are provided, such as new heating systems, and potentially include microgeneration for households where mains gas is not available

Consumer Focus Scotland intends to carry out this research to improve understanding of

issues around the delivery of solutions to fuel poverty in rural areas in Scotland, with the

aim, in line with our membership of the Fuel Poverty Forum, of improving the delivery of

the EAP in those areas.

The research report will have two elements:

1. focus groups on the delivery of services from the perspective of consumers who have benefited from assistance

2. looking at the effectiveness of promotion and delivery from the perspective of local agencies


We aim to:

Improve the quality of service provided by the Energy Assistance Package to vulnerable consumers in rural, remote and island areas, in line with the findings of the research. We anticipate that the study will highlight both successes and areas for improvement in addressing fuel poverty in rural, remote and island communities. Consumer Focus Scotland will then campaign for any identified improvements to be delivered as part of the package

S2. Empowering consumers in Scotland to make informed decisions on their options to get a better deal on their energy supply

Consumer Focus data shows clearly that energy prices have effectively doubled between

2003 and 2009. This trend is expected to continue. There are clear strategic challenges

in the structure and operation of the energy market that have a fundamental impact on

consumers across Great Britain. In the devolved context, measures by the Scottish

Government and energy suppliers to address energy efficiency will reduce individual

consumer’s fuel bills.

Research undertaken by Consumer Focus Scotland demonstrates that many consumers

would like additional targeted assistance and assurance to reduce their bills by switching

supplier or gaining access to a social tariff. Therefore, a key element of the work is a

programme which will build capacity among frontline advice service providers so they are

better able to support and empower Scottish energy consumers to overcome the

perceived and real barriers to making informed choices. There will also be a targeted

campaign highlighting the opportunity for consumers to make these decisions with expert

help.

This work will learn from, and build on, the successful Energy Best Deal campaign

undertaken in England and Wales by Ofgem and Citizens Advice Bureaux.

We aim to ensure:

a more effective switching advice and support service is added to the range of

financial and energy advice provided at local level for disadvantaged consumers

reductions in fuel bills for individual consumers

The benefit to consumers will be:

increased confidence to take advantage of their power as consumers to seek

better terms of supply of energy

reduced energy bills for those who choose to change tariff

improved capacity among support agencies will widen the range of consumers

who are able to access these benefits

consumer demand changes in suppliers’ behaviour will benefit all consumers in

the longer term by motivating energy suppliers to become more responsive to

consumers’ needs



S3. Research into Post Office Business as Usual (BAU) closures in Scotland

There is concern about the impact of BAU closures on consumers in the short-term while

their local post office is closed – particularly in remote rural areas in Scotland where the

Post Office fulfils a vital social function, where small businesses are reliant on the Post

Office and its services, and where the local Post Office is often based in ‘the last shop in

the village’. There are also concerns about the impact that such closures might have on

longer-term viability of the Post Office network in Scotland.

There are two main elements to the proposed work:

1. data analysis to determine the pattern of BAU closures

2. qualitative research in selected areas to ‘dig deeper’ behind the statistics and examine the impact of BUC on consumers – with a particular focus on those vulnerable consumers most reliant on Post Office services

BAU closures will always happen; however, through this research we will seek to

enhance the consumer interest in this area, and bring about improvements in how Royal

Mail prepares for and manages these closures to reduce the impact on consumers.

The benefit to consumers:

over time BAU closures will become less prevalent and new measures will be put in place to minimise the impact of these closures on consumers

S4. Mapping of Government services in Scottish Post Offices

The Post Office network in Scotland, as in the rest of the UK, recognises that it needs to

reform and modernise, if it is to be sustainable and offer an attractive range of high

quality services and products to consumers. There is general consensus among policy

makers that one way in which this development can take place is through the Post Office

widening the range of services it offers to customers. One of the core services that should

be delivered to consumers is an increased number of Scottish Government and local

authority services. This would increase awareness among these consumers of a range of

other Post Office products and services. This would support the sustainability of the Post

Office network by encouraging new or returning customers, and would help to improve

access to public services for consumers.

We aim to commission a mapping exercise that will:

provide comprehensive, robust information about the services that the Scottish Government and each of the 32 local authorities in Scotland offers through Post Offices

identify the different outlets and provision points that local authorities currently use to deliver relevant services within their area

produce case studies of good practice where the Scottish Government or Scottish local authorities are using Post Offices for the delivery of services

explore the challenges/barriers that the Scottish Government and local authorities face in using Post Offices to support service delivery

highlight relevant examples of good practice from abroad that might be used to inform improvements in this area in Scotland



consumers will benefit as they will be able to access an increased range of services through their local Post Office, and will have a more sustainable Post Office network to access services through in the future

C. A fair deal in financial services

Consumer Focus Scotland has no separate plans in this area.


S5. Food services for older people in the community

Older people living in the community are one of the specific vulnerable groups highlighted

in the national food policy ‘Recipe for Success’ and in the ‘Healthy Eating Active Living

Action Plan’.

Consumer Focus will undertake research on food services for older people living in the

community via questionnaires sent to all local authorities and selected consumers. The

main objectives are to assess current policies and services that focus more on the

community rather than on institutions for the long-term care for older people, and to

establish any gaps in this provision.

There has been little work in this area in Scotland. The findings of this work will be used

to inform government policy in this area and the approaches adopted by local authorities

and the voluntary sector.


depending on the findings of the research, it could ensure improved food services for older people in Scotland

S6. Service user involvement at national level in relation to social care policy

The involvement of consumers of services, or of people able to advocate for particular groups of consumers, is one of the main ways in which service planners and service providers can ensure that services meet people’s needs. While this kind of involvement has developed in different settings and to different extents, Consumer Focus Scotland has a concern that in some policy areas this is done less effectively at national level.

This work will map the extent to which the voice of service users is heard in the

development of policy at national level in relation to social care services. It may be useful

to look at models for how this is done in other countries.

If it appears necessary to lobby for more effective representation of service users at

national level, this policy paper will provide the basis for such lobbying.


more effective representation of the consumer interest at national level, and a greater awareness of this representation and its impact


S7. User Focus: How well are scrutiny bodies performing?

In April 2009 Scottish Ministers directed the bodies that inspect, regulate and audit

Scottish public services to improve their ‘user focus’. This was followed by a duty to

promote continuous improvement in user focus, contained within the Public Services

Reform Bill, published in mid-2009.

This project will establish to what extent scrutiny bodies are meeting these tests.

The project proposes to cover eight scrutiny bodies:

NHS QIS

Social Work Inspection Agency

Care Commission

Scottish Housing Regulator

Audit Scotland

HM Inspectorate of Education

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland

HM Fire Inspectorate for Scotland

The project will take place during a period of change for three of the scrutiny bodies

identified. The Public Services Reform Bill, currently before Parliament, will create

Healthcare Improvement Scotland (a new body taking on powers from NHS QIS) and the

Social Work and Social Care Inspectorate (a merger of the current Social Work

Inspection Agency and the Care Commission). The project will therefore not start until

late 2010 to allow for this bill to have been passed but before the new organisations are

formed (expected in 2011/12). Publishing the findings during the development of these

new organisations will help ensure that user focus is embedded in their processes.

This work will examine how far public services scrutiny bodies have come in developing

user focus, and rate their performance according to the seven tests of user focus,

identified by the User Focus Action Group in 2008 and developed by Consumer Focus

Scotland in 2009. Scrutiny bodies will be sent requests for information on their user focus

strategies and interviews will be carried out with senior managers in each of the bodies.

This project will support the development of a culture of ‘user focus’ in scrutiny bodies by

improving awareness of good practice.


in the longer term, user focus in scrutiny will contribute to the development of consumer-focused public services

S8. The consumer perspective on public sector performance reporting

In recent years there has been an international trend towards using outcomes to measure

the performance of public services (OECD, 2005, Modernising Government: The way

forward). This follows widespread criticisms of input and process measurements for their

lack of relevance to consumers and citizens.

Part of the explanation for this trend is that reporting on outcomes rather then inputs and

processes may improve accountability to consumers by increasing the accessibility and

relevance of performance information. The literature also suggests that the lack of

consumer focus in performance measurement may explain the ‘perception gap’ between

consumers and service providers or government agencies. This suggests that reporting

on outcomes of public services may impact on consumer perceptions of those services

(see SCC, 2007, Literature Review on the Consumer Approach to Scrutiny).


This project will explore to what extent Scottish public services have moved towards

outcome focused reporting of their performance.

The work will include:

analysis of the extent of outcome focused reporting of public service performance through a review of current practice

discussions with stakeholders on current practice

exploration of the views of consumers on current practice through focus groups with consumers

We aim to:

promote robust and outcome focused measurement of Scottish public services

improve reporting of public services performance to consumers and the public


an improved outcome focus within Scottish public services. Services will be designed around their needs and expectations and by providing information to allow them to judge services delivery levels, consumers will be more able to challenge poor quality services


S9. UK Nutritional Strategies Seminar

A UK Nutritional Strategies seminar with representatives from Scotland, England, Wales

and Northern Ireland will discuss how nutrition strategies have been created and applied

and whether they are working in the consumer interest. Invitees will include Consumer

Focus, Food Standards Agency and Government representatives from each country

together with World Health Organisation (WHO), EU Commission, Community Food and

Health Scotland, healthyliving award and BEUC.

It is important that the consumer voice is heard in the development of nutritional

strategies as a counter to the food industry. The UK Nutritional Strategies seminar would

enable the exchange of ideas and focus on the consumer.

We seek:

improved relationships, communications and understanding of different UK strategies together with knowledge of good practice that could be utilised elsewhere. A deeper appreciation of the consumer view by Governments


the development of nutritional strategies that reflect the consumer voice (particularly the disadvantaged)

S10. Care preferences in old age

Care services for older people have, in the past, been provided in ways which do not

necessarily cater well for individual choices. Today’s 50 and 60-year-olds are likely to

have different expectations about the kind of care or support they would like if or when

they are no longer able to live independently.


Current policy emphasises the desirability of providing personalised care services.

However, economic pressures, and pressures associated with an ageing population may

mean that it is harder to provide the diversity of service models which would be required

by genuinely personalised services. There is evidence that policies such as Direct

Payments, which are an example of allowing service users to purchase their own care

‘package’ have a very low level of use. The reasons for this may be complex, but are

likely to include local authorities not encouraging or facilitating uptake.

For personalisation to be a reality, policy makers and service planners need evidence

supporting the range of needs and preferences of future consumers in relation to care

and support services. This may include things like housing preferences and alternative

models of supported living.

We aim to:

provide an evidence base which will influence policy and service provision in this area in the future. This should provide a greater range of options and choices for older people in need of support for independent living, based on evidence of what people want

S11. Contributing a low-income consumer viewpoint to the sustainable development debate

There is increasing clarity and agreement over long-term environmental and sustainability

policy aims across a range of issues, many of which are now linked to the climate change

agenda2.

Debate is now focusing on the means by which these aims can be achieved, and change

in consumer behaviour is frequently highlighted, explicitly or implicitly, as part of the

overall solution.

This work will define and represent a consistent low-income consumer viewpoint in

debates around sustainable development as they progress in Scotland, taking forward

the findings of 09/10 research on tensions and opportunities between the environmental

and consumer perspectives, and building on existing work on climate change, recycling

and microgeneration.

We seek to ensure that:

low income consumer viewpoints are considered and represented as an integral part of all debates which involve changes in the goods and services people use


sustainable development strategies for Scotland to take account of the limited environmental impact of low-income consumers and emphasise the social and economic aspects of sustainable development

2 An outline of the issues covered in the Act and links to the full text and associated strategies are

available at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Environment/climatechange/scotlands-action/climatechangeact

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Environment/climatechange/scotlands-action/climatechangeact

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Environment/climatechange/scotlands-action/climatechangeact


S12. Freedom of Information five years on: the impact on consumers

The Scottish Consumer Council had a long history of work in relation to Freedom of

Information and in 2007, in conjunction with the Scottish Information Commissioner,

published a guide for consumers on their rights to access information under the Freedom

of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 called ‘Your Right to Know.’ Having campaigned for

the right of access to information for campaigners, we are keen to undertake work

exploring the practical impact of this legislation on consumers.

This research will explore the impact of this legislation on consumers, including for

example:

are consumers making use of FOI provisions? If not, why not?

what are consumers using FOI for?

are consumers being provided with the information they request and within the appropriate timescales?

what do consumers think about the current processes?

do consumers want to obtain information from organisations that are not subject to FOI and are therefore unable to obtain such information?

We will undertake research into the impact of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 on consumers.


organisations apply the legislation correctly and consistently. Consumers to make greater use of the process, confident in the quality of responses they receive


receiving the full benefit of the legislation and having confidence in the process

S13. Civil Justice

We will undertake a range of activities under the broad principle of improving consumers’

access to civil justice, including work on class actions, court users and administrative

justice. The direction of our work on civil justice will depend largely on what

recommendations emerge from the civil courts review, published on 30 September 2009,

and the Scottish Government's response to the recommendations of the Administrative

Justice Steering Group's recent reports.

It is important that the civil justice system focuses on the needs of those who use it. The

present court system is too focused on the needs of lawyers rather than on the needs of

the ultimate users of the system, ie those who become involved in civil disputes. At

present, court processes can be confusing, intimidating and even frightening for parties,

particularly those who are unrepresented. In those cases where they actually get as far

as the hearing, unrepresented litigants are very often faced with a solicitor representing

the other side, within an intimidating and formal setting dominated by lawyers wearing

formal dress and using legal language. We have long been concerned that this places

unrepresented litigants at a potential disadvantage in court proceedings and indeed may

deter people from pursuing legal action.


We seek:

To improve access to justice for consumers. We believe there is a need for a four step approach to remove the present barriers to access to justice within the civil justice system:

a public legal education strategy

coherent and appropriate advice services

an emphasis on informal means of resolving disputes

user-friendly formal dispute resolution mechanisms


The overall benefit to consumers of these strands of work is increased access to justice

S14. Public Legal Education

The Paths to Justice Scotland research found that one in four people in Scotland had

experienced one or more justiciable problems during the previous five years,

considerably fewer than the proportion of those who say they have had justice problems

in other countries. If someone does not recognise they have a problem, they will not know

they need to take steps to deal with that problem, let alone what steps they should take.

Even among those who recognise they have a dispute, some take no action to resolve it.

The available evidence suggests it is likely that people do not seek advice because they

do not know where to go for help.

The report of the SCC’s Civil Justice Advisory Group concluded that there is a need for

improved public legal education about the civil justice system and basic social and legal

rights and responsibilities, targeting hard-to-reach groups in particular. This has recently

been supported by our research into the views and experiences of civil sheriff court

users. From the research, there emerged a clear need for greater provision of practical

and comprehensive information for litigants on what to expect during legal proceedings,

and how litigants can best seek advice and progress their case effectively.

This work will involve a quantitative survey to ascertain consumers’ level of knowledge of their legal rights, responsibilities and means of redress in relation to a wide range of problems with a potentially legal solution.

We seek to ensure that:

public legal education is seen as an important and integral part of the legal assistance given to consumers, with a strategic approach taken to this area’s development


improved, targeted public legal education would empower consumers and ensure they are better informed about their rights and where to seek help and advice. This would ensure that consumers have better access to justice than at present


S15. Lunching out

This work follows on the 2008 SCC research report ‘Out to Lunch’, which examined the

lunchtime choices of pupils who regularly choose not to eat school dinners but instead

prefer to purchase food out of school. This work will be based on the report

recommendations and will promote links with other initiatives such as the healthyliving

award and the neighbourhood shops project. It will involve working with young people,

staff, retailers and the wider community. Scottish Government will be on the Advisory

Group for the work and will be involved in issues and solutions as they arise. The final

research report will inform their work in this area. Consumer Focus Scotland can use the

findings to illustrate how to take this work forward.


improved lunch time choices for pupils who do not eat school lunches and improved offerings from retailers for the local community

S16. Test case on Land Owning Maintenance Companies

Following a recommendation from the OFT in February 2009, this work will support a

group of owners to test the provisions of the Title Conditions (Scotland) Act 2003 in

regard to dismissing land-owning maintenance companies and appointing alternative

providers. This work is likely to consist of both practical support to a group of owners and

financial support to access legal services.

The legal ruling will either:

empower consumers to use the provisions in the Title Conditions (Scotland) Act 2003 to dismiss their existing provider of land maintenance and appoint an alternative provider

highlight a gap in existing legislation that Consumer Focus Scotland will use to campaign for a change in the law to enable owners to choose an alternative land-owning maintenance company


in the longer term, the ability to choose their provider should increase competition for consumers and lead to better quality of service

S17. Digital consumers in Scotland

Communications markets, including those for broadband, television, radio and mobile

phones, are of critical importance to Scotland particularly in relation to universal services

and digital inclusion. Access to an effective communications network is an economic and

social lifeline, and a clear necessity if people are to participate properly in modern

society. Yet consumers in Scotland often face particular challenges and barriers that can

hinder their ability to operate successfully in these markets.

This applies in both rural and urban areas. The situation for Scottish consumers is further

complicated by the fact that the Scottish Government has certain devolved powers in

these areas, but many issues are taken forward at UK level. This work will look at how

markets and policy can best function in this context to achieve the best outcomes for

Scottish consumers.

We will produce a strategic policy paper on the communications sector for consumers in

Scotland. The strategy paper itself will identify the key changes that are required and will

identify how these might be achieved.


The paper will also serve as a useful base for determining how Consumer Focus

Scotland responds to new policy developments in different communications markets, and

provide a valuable framework for identifying what changes might be required in relation to

these developments.


the strategy paper will benefit consumers as it will identify key issues and areas of detriment for Scottish consumers, and set out Consumer Focus Scotland’s views on these issues. This will place Consumer Focus Scotland in a stronger position to work with stakeholders to achieve change for the benefit of consumers

S18. Consumers and the economy in Scotland

Many of the markets where policy responsibility is reserved are broadly similar across the

UK. However there are often important differences between Scotland and other parts of

the UK in these markets in relation to key consumer issues such as access, choice and

fairness. While policy may be the same throughout GB, the delivery mechanisms may be

very different in Scotland – for example while consumer protection laws may be broadly

the same but the legal system and courts through which those laws might be enforced

are entirely different, and policy responsibility for those institutions is devolved to the

Scottish Government. Therefore there must be clear routes and mechanisms through

which the specific interests and concerns of Scottish consumers in these markets are

identified, responded to and addressed.

This paper will build on Consumer Focus Scotland’s previous work in this area and will

promote the need for the consumer voice to be given an appropriate platform in all

debates on policy and markets in Scotland.

We seek:

we want the consumer interest to be embedded within all debates around policy and markets in Scotland, so that it is given equal weight to the legitimate interests of business and of organised labour


the consumer interest will be given greater prominence and a more central role in the policy making process, leading to a reduction in consumer detriment across a range of different markets



In Wales, projects are represented within two strands:

Representing consumers

Empowering consumers

W1. Driving forward the fuel poverty agenda in Wales


There are now around 320,000 households in Wales (one in four) in fuel poverty,

categorised by the combined effects of poor energy efficiency of homes, low incomes and

high energy prices3.

We will work in partnership with others to ensure that fuel poverty is kept high on the

political agenda in Wales and campaign to see the policy priorities outlined in the Fuel

Poverty Charter become a reality.

We will achieve this via the Cross Party Group on Fuel Poverty; by driving forward policy

calls in the Fuel Poverty Charter through the Wales Fuel Poverty Coalition; as part of the

Ministerial Advisory Group on Fuel Poverty and by undertaking our own campaigning and

lobbying on this issue.

Impact

we want to see a fuel poverty strategy for Wales that is fit for purpose and provides a framework for removing vulnerable consumers in Wales from fuel poverty. Our Charter calls for action by the Welsh Assembly Government, UK Government, Ofgem, local authorities and energy companies

we will identify where and who consumers in fuel poverty are, so that they will receive appropriate, co-ordinated help and support to bring them out, and keep them out, of fuel poverty

W2. Impacts of fuel poverty and fuel debt for consumers in Wales


Fuel poverty contributes to a wide range of other detriments, including poor mental and

physical health, reduced quality of life, restricted educational attainment, social isolation

and indebtedness4.

This project will highlight the impacts that living in fuel poverty has on individuals and

households. We will follow the stories of people who are in this situation and record the

personal impact. We will highlight the issues experienced by consumers, how suppliers

respond to their needs and explore the impact that not being able to afford to pay for fuel

has on consumers' health.

3 NEA Cymru estimate, 2009

4 Research by NEA Cymru


Impact

aside from the debate on cost and debt we feel that it is important that the impact that this situation has on people's health and wellbeing is recognised and that suppliers and the regulator work to avoid negative effects

as well as improvement in the practices of energy suppliers and the regulator, we want the effects of fuel poverty to be recognised as more far-reaching than simply a monetary issue. We would like to see consumers seeking support at an early stage, to prevent some of the wider effects taking hold, and improved support for these consumers provided by suppliers

W3. Pricing and switching phase II


This project will further examine the low rates of energy company switching in Wales.

It will build on the findings of our current work on pricing and switching, which is looking at

some of the reasons behind the characteristics of the market in Wales, including the high

price of electricity.

According to Ofgem, ‘the Scottish and Welsh markets exhibit some distinct

characteristics. They are the most concentrated markets in Great Britain, with the

combined market share of the former electricity incumbent and British Gas exceeding 80

per cent in the south of Wales region’.

UK Government figures published in March 2009 show that 86 per cent of pre-payment

meter consumers in south Wales remain with their in-area supplier (the local incumbent

supplier) compared to a British average of 48 per cent.

We will look at developments in the Welsh consumer energy retail market in the context

of Ofgem’s Retail Remedies, which will start to affect consumers from autumn 2009. One

of the aims of the Retail Remedies is to make market competition more effective by

improving the information provided to customers.

Impact

by understanding the reasons for consumer behaviour and ensuring that information is better tailored to their needs, we will encourage Welsh consumers to be more active in energy markets, so that the market for consumers in Wales becomes more competitive in terms of cost and customer experience

W4. Off gas network consumers in Wales phase II


According to the Welsh Assembly Government’s ‘Living in Wales’ survey5, 30 per cent of

households that are not connected to the mains gas network (referred to as ‘off gas’) are

in fuel poverty compared to seven per cent of those ‘on gas’.

The Better Regulation Executive6 reports that 25 per cent of Welsh households are off

gas, compared to 17 per cent in England.

We will undertake research looking at the detriment faced by consumers in Wales who

are ‘off gas’ and who have to rely on LPG or other forms of heating and energy. We will

look at issues including fuel efficiency, switching suppliers, bulk buying groups, regulatory

intervention, mains gas connection and micro-generation.

5 Living in Wales 2004

6 2007


This work will build upon the work we are currently doing both in Wales and at a UK level

to give us an evidence base of the demographics of who is and is not connected to the

network and what effect it has on their lives.

Impact

we want to see that suppliers understand and react to consumer need and experience. We also want to look at how communities might be empowered to take control of their own energy supply choices, including taking steps to access the gas network

this work would also be used to influence Welsh Assembly Government and local government policy from an evidence base that provides a consumer perspective

this project may lead to the development of better information to consumers on tackling the detriment they face from being ‘off gas’, with the goal to ultimately empower people to collectively and individually understand and make best use of the energy options available to them

W5. Pre-payment meters Wales phase II


The recent Ofgem Energy Supply probe found that there is above average use of pre-

payment meters in Wales. Furthermore, UK figures7 show that 26 per cent of fuel poor

households and 37 per cent of people living in social housing pay by pre-payment

meters.

We will look in detail at the difficulties faced by consumers using a pre-payment meter. As

well as self disconnection, known issues include the availability of retail points for key

cards, levels of debt on bills, location of meter, low levels of switching, debt blocking and

cost of energy.

This follows on from our current work on pre-payment meters and self disconnection.

Impact

we want to improve services for consumers by helping energy suppliers and energy keycard retailers build their policies on the real life experiences of consumers. We also want to see an improvement in the information for consumers, particularly regarding their rights

Fair deal for postal consumers

W6. Pushing the envelope – innovation and diversification of post office services in Wales


The Post Office network provides access to essential financial services such as cash,

benefits and pensions, as well as mail services. Exploring ways of how the network can

innovate and diversify in the services that it provides is an important way of providing

better access for consumers and bolstering the network.

7 Ofgem Probe, 2008


The Welsh Assembly Government has made a commitment to play its role in supporting

the network for the lifetime of this administration. It recognises the social and community

value of post offices especially in supporting vulnerable people in Wales’ most isolated

and disadvantaged communities and in tackling financial inclusion.

We will undertake research into what innovative ways of providing local authority and

community services in post offices currently exist and then work with others to

disseminate best practice.

We want to provide examples of how local authorities could provide services through post

offices; and for sub postmasters to consider how they might use the Welsh Assembly

Government's Post Office Diversification Fund to diversify the services they provide,

meeting consumers’ needs and benefitting the community.

Impact

at its most basic this work would help promote the long term viability of the network. It would also lead to provision of a range of services that better meet consumer needs delivered at the post office

W7. Monitor and evaluate the provision and quality of post office services in Wales.


We will undertake further research on post office usage by consumers in Wales, their

views about the quality of post office services and their overall post office experience. In

particular we are keen to understand the experience of consumers in rural areas,

deprived urban areas, those on low incomes, the elderly, disabled people and those with

young children.

This work would be a continuation of work from our current workplan and part of our

statutory duty to represent consumers in relation to postal services.

We will share the findings with stakeholders such as Post Office Limited, the UK

Government and the Welsh Assembly Government to help their understanding of post

office provision in Wales, how well it meets consumer need and improvements that could

be made.

Impact

consumers who use post offices in Wales will have a voice. We will use that voice to lobby key stakeholders to achieve change in any areas which cause detriment

we want to support consumers who use post offices in Wales to have a voice in how they receive services and to communicate their experience

we will lobby Post Office Ltd, the Welsh Assembly Government and the UK Government when we find areas that cause detriment to consumers and where an improvement in the quality of service provided would result in consumers becoming more likely to use these services


W8. Royal Mail Delivery Services and consumer rights (including micro-businesses)


Discussions with stakeholders suggest that there are a number of issues with Royal

Mail’s current Parcel Delivery Service. These include the distances some customers must

travel to get to a post office or sorting office to pick up and post items, the practice of

doorstepping (where parcels are left on doorsteps when no one is home) and the amount

of lost, missing or stolen post.

As part of the recent Post Office closure programme, 150 urban and rural post offices

closed in Wales, replaced by 59 outreach services. This has a big impact on consumers

and micro-businesses, particularly in those areas where consumers or businesses have

to travel further to post an item or pick up a delivery.

We will highlight examples of good practice and good design which improve the system

for users, in order to advocate for improved services and identify which parts of the

service are failing consumers and businesses. We will also work with Royal Mail to try

and identify any further potential service improvements.

Furthermore, we will develop an information campaign to raise consumers’ awareness of

their rights in relation to deliveries.

Impact

we want to help ensure that the Royal Mail delivery service meets the needs of consumers and micro-businesses, of which there are a high number in Wales, many based in rural areas. Good practice models that benefit consumers will be identified, publicised and adopted more widely

Fair deal in financial services

W9. Financial advice for young people


Since September 2008 personal finance education has had an enhanced position on both

the primary and secondary school curriculum in Wales, recognising the importance of

improving and developing financial inclusion to the social justice agenda.

However research8 tells us that half of 16-34 year olds in Wales learn about money

issues from their parents or another family member/guardian. We also know that the

accuracy and relevance of the information received is likely to vary from family to family.

Without the right knowledge and skills to manage their money effectively many young

people may make poorly informed financial decisions.

This could result in the purchase or use of costly, inappropriate or unnecessary financial

products, or a greater likelihood of them getting into unmanageable debt.

This project will look at the awareness and understanding that young people (aged

between seven and 18) have of financial issues, what types of information they value and

how existing information channels could be extended and improved.

We are seeking to extend and improve what is available for teaching young people about

financial issues, based on what young people tell us they value and need.

8 ‘Figuring out finance’, Welsh Consumer Council, Nov 2005


Impact

an increased understanding of the views and experiences of young people will help to ensure that the information they receive is clear, relevant, properly targeted and effective. Ultimately this will help them to help themselves. The financial world and the products within it move at a seemingly ever-increasing rate. Young people need to develop the ability to deal with these changes and to take those skills into their adult lives

the outcomes of this project will build on the financial capability work of the Financial Services Authority in Wales. We will use the views expressed directly by young people to influence the UK Government’s Money Guidance project and the work of the Welsh Assembly Government – both directly and via its agencies

W10. Tracking over-indebtedness in Wales


With many people now facing redundancy and unemployment and essential living costs,

such as energy and other household bills, continuing to soar, it is likely that many

consumers will be struggling to manage their finances in the coming months and possibly

years.

Citizens Advice Cymru has reported that debt-related issues accounted for the highest

number of queries to bureaux in Wales between April 2008 and April 2009.

There is a need to assess the impact that the current recession is having on the ‘financial

health’ of consumers in Wales, particularly those threatened with redundancy, reduced

working hours, or with high levels of existing debt, to provide an evidence base for any

policy decisions aimed at supporting those who need help.

In this project we will undertake research to examine the types of credit held, people’s

ability to manage those credit commitments, how likely they are to fail to make payments

and the implications for the Welsh Assembly Government’s financial inclusion policies.

Impact

our work in this area has already been cited by the Welsh Assembly Government in their Financial Inclusion Strategy. This new work will enable us to ensure that their policies to tackle debt and financial inclusion reflect the needs and priorities of consumers in Wales, and in particular that adequate, and correctly targeted services are in place to help people

W11. Financial service jargon


Research and experience tells us that people find financial information difficult enough to

understand at the best of times. We are now in a time when people’s financial decision

making may have profound effects on both their short and long term financial health.

We want to ensure that financial institutions provide consumers with clear information in

all their financial products and to highlight how poor communication can contribute to bad

financial decision making.

We will encourage consumers to share their examples of ‘gobbledygook’ in the financial

service sector with us. We will do this via our website and by targeting media and

stakeholders.

We intend to put together a panel of experts to assess the examples and we will then

publish the five worst offenders.


Impact

an inability to understand what the other party is saying renders any of us powerless in a conversation

if, by being named and shamed, financial institutions change their policies and improve the clarity of their products, consumers’ understanding and ability to make better choices will improve

W12. Switching financial services


We have seen a significant increase in numbers of price comparison websites in recent

years, designed to help people exercise their power to choose by switching in key

product/service areas, most notably in the financial and utility sectors.

The result has been fierce online market competition as providers work hard to entice

customers to choose their products. However, for those who do not use the internet,

either by choice or by lack of access or ability, switching providers can be a much more

daunting and complicated process.

Recent research by Consumer Focus Wales found that 31 per cent of consumers in

Wales do not use the internet, rising to nearly half of social categories DE (46 per cent)

and almost three-quarters of those aged 65+ (73 per cent).

In this project we will examine the extent to which consumers in Wales actively engage in

the financial services market.

We will look at the levels of switching in key aspects of the market, as well as consumers’

confidence in switching, how easy they find the process, their information needs, any

perceived barriers to switching, and what impact, if any, the economic downturn has had

on their switching behaviours.

Impact

we want to achieve a situation where consumers who want to switch, will feel knowledgeable and confident in the switching process and able to find products that are appropriate to their needs and circumstances

we will try to find solutions, such as safe switching guides, to support consumers who want to engage more actively in switching financial services

W13. Older people’s finances, phase II


The older population in Wales makes up a large and growing sector of our demography –

around 22 per cent which, according to Age Concern, is higher than the UK average9.

UK-wide data suggests that a small but growing number of older people are reaching

their anticipated retirement age without adequate planning and with existing debts.

For some older people, meeting repayments on these commitments will mean having to

carry on working, or even looking for additional work in order to service these debts. For

many, a pension alone will be insufficient to meet their repayments.

This project aims to provide insight into older people’s finances in Wales, focusing on

levels of debt and borrowing amongst the 65+ age group, and will build on our current

work in this area.

9 A statistical focus on older people in Wales, National Statistics Office and Welsh Assembly

Government, 2008


Impact

ultimately we want to see provision of advice and support services based on older people’s needs and wants, along with early intervention of support services to prevent further detriment

we believe that improving the amount and timing of appropriate advice and information can lead to more informed and empowered consumers. In this way, those who want and are able to look after themselves are enabled and those who need further support are identified

Consumers and public services

W14. Use of bailiffs by local authorities


Last year Welsh local authorities were unable to collect £37 million of Council Tax

charges10.

Part of the standard procedure for recovery of unpaid debt is to employ bailiffs who will

make approaches to the debtor using methods which are, at present, ungoverned by

regulation.

We want to investigate bailiff practice from a consumer perspective, providing qualitative

evidence of any need for industry-wide independent regulation.

Bailiffs are deployed to recover many different types of debt. This project will focus on the

use of bailiffs by local authorities in Wales.

Citizens Advice has done a lot of work in this area and has worked with the Local

Government Association to produce a good practice protocol for collection of Council Tax

arrears in England and Wales.

Citizens Advice is continuing to work in this area but there is scope for us to work with

them to add value to this work by not only encouraging adoption of best practice but also

providing an evidence base on which to evaluate the effectiveness of proposed

regulation.

Issues to be explored include:

potential tighter regulation of the bailiff industry

a statutory code of conduct and complaints procedure

better scrutiny of local authorities’ contracts with bailiffs

caps on bailiff charges

whether local authorities should use in-house bailiffs in preference to contracted private bailiffs

Impact

if necessary, we want to see tighter regulation of the bailiff industry, as well as detailed best practice guides by the Welsh Assembly Government

the results of this should lead to consumers who fall into Council Tax arrears, Housing Benefit arrears or, as social tenants, into rent arrears, not having to face

10

Welsh Assembly Government Council Tax Collection Rates 2008-09


additional, unnecessary stress from private bailiffs behaving without a code of conduct

furthermore, they would not face bailiff charges on top of their debt burden, making the situation even worse. We would want to see these consumers offered alternative debt solutions based on co-operation and mutual agreement, involving independent advice and advocacy, with bailiffs deployed as an absolute last resort

Rights, regulation and redress

W15. E.coli – learning the lessons


In March 2009, Professor Hugh Pennington presented his inquiry report to the Welsh

Assembly Government. The report made 24 recommendations aimed at preventing

another outbreak of e.coli 0157, not just in Wales but in the UK as a whole. It was

welcomed by all parties, including the families of those affected by the South Wales

outbreak. Work has now begun to implement the recommendations.

Our work in this area began in this current workplan year. There are two strands, firstly

working with the families, the Food Standards Agency, Welsh Assembly Government and

the Welsh Local Government Association and other stakeholders to track the

implementation of the Pennington report’s recommendations and to keep consumers

updated on progress. The other is working with the Food Standards Agency to ensure

that consumers have access to information about the hygiene ratings of food businesses

in Wales.

We envisage that there will now be ongoing bi-annual meetings to track the

implementation of the recommendations.

Furthermore, we have been invited to be part of the Food Standards Agency’s Wales

Steering Group for their ‘scores on the doors’ consumer information work. Our research

has already indicated that nine out of ten consumers want access to this information.

Impact

consumers cannot undertake hygiene tests themselves before they make decisions on where and what to eat. Instead they put their faith in the systems set up to protect them and those in positions to represent them

all stakeholders in the group are dedicated to ensuring all necessary steps are taken to prevent another major outbreak of e.coli 0157 in Wales. The group will ensure that progress towards this goal is transparent for consumers

additionally, by giving consumers greater access to the outcome of those systems – food hygiene ratings, we can empower them to make their own, informed decisions about where they eat, and what they consider to be acceptable


W16. Service quality in Housing Benefit administration


In 2007-08 there were 165,077 new Housing Benefit claims made in Wales, taking the

total number of Housing Benefit claimants in 2007/08 to 304,61211.

Housing advice agencies – Shelter Cymru, Citizens Advice and the Welsh Tenants

Federation – report that faults with the administration of Housing Benefit are some of the

most frequent and recurrent problems they come across.

This project will find out what people really experience when they make a claim for

Housing Benefit.

There has been little research to explore the extent and nature of the problem in Wales

and importantly the resulting psychological effect of waiting in financial limbo for a

Housing Benefit decision – the knock-on health implications of the stress of financial

uncertainty, possible harassment from landlords and the reality of homelessness.

While work is happening at a grassroots level to support consumers to resolve their

Housing Benefit problems, there is little work currently being undertaken at strategic level

either with local authorities or the Welsh Assembly Government to improve practice.

Consumer Focus Wales proposes working in partnership with those with expertise in this

area, to campaign for a better deal for Housing Benefit claimants in Wales.

The research findings from this work will provide an evidence base for our discussions

with policymakers with a view to promoting best practice among local authorities in

Wales.

Impact

there are opportunities to make an impact in this area as, although Housing Benefit is not a devolved issue, the Welsh Assembly Government still has a clear role in terms of co-ordinating and guiding local authority performance on the administration and processing of Housing Benefit

our findings will feed into the implementation plan of the Welsh Assembly Government's 10-year Homeless Strategy12, by recommending the precise ways in which Housing Benefit administration performance needs to be improved

for Housing Benefit claimants, this would lead to a greater focus on their experience and needs, minimising additional stress

W17. Consumers and the Welsh Language


The number of people speaking and learning the Welsh language has increased in recent

years; today approx 200,000 people are learning the language13. Many of these are

young people in school, therefore in addition to the numbers of consumers speaking

Welsh now there is likely to be an increase in the number of consumers in the future who

may wish to use services through the medium of Welsh.

11

Local Government Data Unit Performance Indicators 2007/08: BNF/002a; BNF/001cD 12

Welsh Assembly Government Homeless Strategy 2009-2019 13

Welsh Assembly Government, Welsh Language LCO Q&A


During this current workplan year we are undertaking research to identify the key issues

for Welsh speaking consumers. This project will build on that work, presenting an

evidence base to ensure the consumer voice is heard in the development of new

legislation.

We want consumers to have a voice at the heart of decisions about the services they

should be able to access through the medium of Welsh, the standard of those services

and what form they should take.

Impact

greater clarity as to what consumers can expect in terms of Welsh medium services and that, where an organisation is not meeting its responsibilities (voluntary or statutory), consumers have a clear right and route of redress

we would also like to move the parameters of the Welsh language debate to consider ‘what consumers would want’ as well as ‘what consumers have a right to’

W18. Shoppers’ rights


We will undertake a campaign to raise awareness of shoppers’ rights, inspired by work of

the Consumer Council of Northern Ireland who regularly run information and education

campaigns.

They have distributed over 150,000 Shoppers’ Rights Cards – a credit card sized

reminder of any shoppers’ basic rights and responsibilities – since their launch in 2003.

We will produce and promote our own bilingual Shoppers’ Rights Card and look at on-line

mechanisms for delivering similar information to on-line shoppers.

We will look to learn lessons from the Consumer Council’s other communications

campaigns, such as the receipts wallet – distributed at Christmas to encourage

consumers to understand and exercise their rights when returning goods, or the

Christmas dinner budget planner designed to help minimise unnecessary spending and

food waste.

Impact

to give consumers a greater knowledge of, and confidence in, their rights and responsibilities, in a practical, convenient and easily accessible format. As a consequence, we hope to improve the reaction of retailers in response to consumers seeking to exercise their rights

some consumers will benefit directly from receiving a card. Others should benefit indirectly from a greater awareness among retailers of their customers’ rights

W19. Understanding the experiences of children and young people as consumers in Wales


There is currently no legislation to protect children and young people from being

discriminated against in accessing goods and services.

Anecdotally, it is acknowledged by those working with and representing children in Wales

that children and young people in Wales are often disadvantaged in the way that they are

treated when using services. This project seeks to unearth such examples, draw attention

to these and highlight where appropriate the need to uphold the rights of children and

young people as consumers in Wales.


We will look at how young people are able to access services; attitudes of service

providers towards young people as consumers; young people’s understanding of their

rights as consumers and how effective and appropriate existing redress mechanisms are

for this group.

We will highlight any evidence of discrimination and disadvantage within a selection of

services and markets, as identified through work with young people themselves.

Impact

having recently gained legislative competence over children’s social policy in Wales, the Welsh Assembly Government is considering putting the core objectives of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into Welsh legislation

this provides an opportunity to encourage the Welsh Assembly Government to use their influence to address any issues highlighted by this project. There may also be specific elements identified as a result of this work that could feed into a future measure

we will work with others to encourage children and young people to consider themselves as consumers and think about how they access goods and services, their rights and how to seek redress where appropriate


Consumer Focus Post


P1. Managing and developing the relationship between Consumer Focus Post and the Consumer Council for Northern Ireland

Consumer Focus Post (NI) endeavours to work closely with the Consumer Council for

Northern Ireland by developing co-operative working relationships, looking for areas of

synergy between respective work programmes, seeking opportunities for joint working on

specific projects and, where appropriate, carrying out joint staff training and procurement.

We aim to:

help ensure that the Royal Mail delivery service meets the needs of consumers and micro-businesses, of which there are a high number in Northern Ireland, many based in rural areas. Good practice models that benefit consumers will be identified, publicised and adopted more widely

These impacts would enable us to:

strengthen our campaigns and our ability to lobby Government, so improving Post Office services for consumers

P2. Improving mail services for Northern Ireland consumers

To ensure that Northern Ireland mail consumers have a reliable and cost-effective

service. We will: use our research into the performance of the first class mail service

between NI and GB, and between NI and the Republic of Ireland, to campaign for

improved services; carry out an annual survey into the satisfaction levels of NI mail

customers; hold briefing sessions for advice agencies to clarify the complaints

procedures for postal services; provide support on developments regarding the Postal

Services Bill, the Universal Service Obligation and the next Price Control; explore the

level of postal consumers’ discontent with wrongly delivered mail; explore the value

consumers place on their local Callers Office and assess their appetite for alternative

solutions to mail delivery in NI.

We seek:

improved policy and practice – in pursuit of better performance and better value for money for the consumer

a consistent and reliable service, especially between non-metropolitan destinations

a better public understanding of standard mail performance and its charging structure; a better service to communities, especially those close to the border, and to SMEs and micro-businesses engaged in cross-border business

better informed advice agencies which are able to handle public enquiries

improved mail service representing value for money

reduction in the level of complaints for wrongly delivered mail

increased delivery convenience



draw attention (through lobbying and media campaigns) to areas of postal detriment to ensure an efficient and reliable postal service

P3. Maintaining and developing a stable Post Office network in Northern Ireland

Ensuring there is a stable and accessible Post Office network throughout Northern

Ireland, catering in particular for the needs of the vulnerable and disadvantaged in rural

and deprived areas. We will: examine the impact of Outreach Services introduced under

the Network Change Programme; investigate the extent to which NI local authorities plan

to use Post Offices for transactions with their customers; explore the opportunities for

joint working between the Credit Union movement in NI and the PO network; carry out an

annual survey on services, assessing performance; contribute to the work of Consumer

Council for Northern Ireland by encouraging additional free use of ATMs in rural areas,

especially in the Post Office network; provide support to the Communities and Public

Service team in the complaints procedures under the ‘Business as Usual’ consultation

code of conduct; undertake a mystery shopping exercise to ascertain the customer

experience of the branch network.

We aim to achieve:

improvements to Outreach services, as identified through our research

enabling local politicians to engage on Post Office issues as they arise on the UK agenda

well informed local councils that are keen to ensure the sustainability of the post office network in their area

financial incentives and support for the network from central and local government

Post Office consumers are placed at the forefront of central and local government policy changes

a commitment to provide an accessible, customer-friendly branch network

satisfactory resolution to complaints cases which suggest Post Office Limited has not adhered to the code of practice


help Post Office Limited achieve a stable and accessible network which meets the needs of communities, in particular the vulnerable and disadvantaged, especially those living in rural and deprived areas


Supporting and empowering consumers

Consumer Focus’s work is not just about influencing Governments and regulators and

improving consumer service – we also want to support and empower individual

consumers.

If the proposal for a Consumer Advocate in the Government White Paper ‘A Better Deal

for Consumers: Delivering Real Help Now and Change for the Future’ goes ahead, one of

the first tasks is likely to be a review of the provision and effectiveness of consumer

information and education by business and government agencies. We would wish to

extend that to issues of active consumer empowerment more generally.

Consumer Focus also has very specific responsibilities to provide direct individual

support to vulnerable consumers of energy and postal services – largely carried out by

our Extra Help Unit.

Extra Help Unit (EHU)

The EHU assists vulnerable consumers across Great Britain with their energy and postal

complaints. It is managed by Consumer Focus Scotland. Consumer Focus has a

statutory duty to investigate cases where a consumer has been disconnected, is

threatened with disconnection, or has experienced a failure in a prepayment meter

system. Consumers are defined as vulnerable when they are unable to resolve a

complaint for themselves due to their personal circumstances, the urgency of the

situation or the complexity of the case. Consumers are referred to the EHU through

agreed channels including Consumer Direct, Ofgem and the statutory Redress Schemes.

The Executive Liaison Team (ELT) works within the EHU to handle high level

correspondence and referrals from Members of Parliament, Members of the Scottish

Parliament and Welsh Assembly Government Members. The ELT also provides an ‘Ask

the Adviser’ telephone based service to advice agencies seeking assistance on how to

progress their client’s complaint.

The majority of consumers transferred to the EHU are very distressed, on low incomes

and in desperate need of representation. Many suffer from health problems or long term

illnesses and often there are young children residing in the property to consider.

The EHU is committed to resolving consumer complaints in a timely and effective

manner. In doing so the EHU investigates and uncovers failures in companies’ practices

or policies and highlights the distress caused to consumers. The EHU continually reviews

workloads to ensure resources can be diverted quickly to cases where the consumer has

been disconnected. The EHU also encourages suppliers to take into account the

consumer’s ability to pay and assess consumers’ eligibility for both social tariffs and the

Priority Services Register. Being a small specialised team serving Great Britain, the EHU

is able to quickly identify trends where vulnerable consumers are being disadvantaged.


Case Study – Disconnection

A consumer’s gas supply had been disconnected due to a gas leak. The energy company advised they

would reconnect the supply the following day, but this never happened. The consumer was contacted

by the energy company a week later and they advised the job would be done soon. The consumer

didn’t hear from the energy company so she started calling them, again she was advised the work

would be completed soon. This situation continued for some weeks with the consumer unaware who to

contact about the matter. The consumer had three young children in the property, who were suffering

from colds at the time.

As soon as the consumer contacted the EHU (via Consumer Direct), our consumer adviser telephoned

the energy company advising that the consumer had been without a gas supply for over a month and

was in a vulnerable household – urging immediate action to be taken. The energy company arranged

an emergency appointment and the gas supply was reconnected the same day. The energy company

apologised for the failure to reconnect the supply following the gas leak advising there was a mix up on

their systems and they thought the job had gone ahead. The energy company awarded the consumer

£1,000 in compensation for failure to provide supply.

In 2010-11, the EHU will:

evaluate its performance against key indicators including consumer benefit and customer satisfaction

be active in identifying issues affecting vulnerable consumers, recommending policy changes, and providing evidence and case studies to support these recommendations

ensure that companies (both energy and post) improve their responsiveness to consumer complaints and tackle the root cause of problems

continue to convene quarterly meetings attended by the ‘Big 6’ energy suppliers and the Energy Retail Association in order to share best practice, and improve operational relationships and processes on handling priority/vulnerable cases

plan how it can achieve continuous improvement in the quality of the service it provides to vulnerable consumers

raise awareness of the services provided by the Executive Liaison Team

Testaments from consumers helped by the EHU:

‘I cannot begin to thank you and your staff for all your hard work. I am so grateful words

fail me’

‘When I read your email I almost cried, your response to my complaint is very heartfelt

and understanding which is something I feel has been lacking’

‘Thank you for your help and assistance in this matter. You were prompt, efficient and

effective and I am appreciative of all your efforts’

‘Just a quick email to say a big thank you for dealing with my case. It had gone on for a

long time and it had affected my health with the stress, headaches and some sleepless

nights’

‘It is so important that Consumer Focus carries on the good work in campaigning for a fair

deal for members of the public who are confused by certain companies. Many, many

thanks to you all’

‘I wanted to pass my thanks to Colin, as I have been trying to resolve matters for three

years’


Complaints of General Interest unit

The Consumers Estate Agents and Redress Act (CEAR) 2007 gave Consumer Focus the

power to investigate complaints which raise new issues that affect consumers generally

or have an important effect on consumers across the UK. We are creating a new unit,

which will be managed by Consumer Focus Wales, to carry out this work. The unit will

receive referrals from designated external and internal stakeholders who work directly

with, or have knowledge about, the issues that are important to consumers. In

exceptional circumstances the unit will investigate complaints from consumers

themselves.

The team will lead investigations, inquiring into and examining consumer issues, when

appropriate using our statutory powers to obtain information from the public and private

sectors. We will champion the rights of consumers based on the facts and evidence

uncovered. The unit will not replicate or duplicate the work of others but aims to

investigate those complaints where there is a gap and a need. The unit will use the

resources throughout Consumer Focus to campaign for a fairer deal based on the

outcome of the investigations.

The recent Government White Paper ‘A Better Deal for Consumers: Delivering Real Help

Now and Change for the Future’, published in July 2009, proposes appointing a

Consumer Advocate based in Consumer Focus. The Complaints of General Interest Unit

will play a key part providing evidence to the Consumer Advocate.

Consumer Focus Labs

Consumer Focus Labs was established to extend our consumer advocacy program to the

internet by developing innovative websites and tools to make peoples' dealings with

companies fairer, save them money, or keep them informed about products or issues that

are important to them.

Consumer Focus Labs is also charged with opening up Government, local authority and

commercial data, which it considers of importance to the public. To this end, the team

completed test freedom of information requests with various local authorities, as well as

submitting subject access requests to companies such as Tesco Clubcard and Orange to

initiate the release of personal information to customers. The findings of these and all

future requests will be documented and followed-up in the event of wrongful refusals.

Consumer Focus Labs assumed responsibility for the Consumer Focus website strategy

in September 2009, working in partnership with the IT and communications departments

to develop a robust platform delivering maximum value for both users and staff.


Partnership projects

National Social Marketing Centre (NSMC)

During the next financial year, the NSMC will continue to strengthen social marketing

skills and capacity throughout the English health system, by continuing its research

programme and completing an NHS training plan.

We will reinforce our relationship with the Department of Health by delivering high quality

services on-time and within specified budgets. We will actively seek opportunities to build

social marketing capacity across Government.

An important project will be developing a quality assurance system for social marketing in

England, to ensure public money spent on social marketing provides best value and

maximum impact.

NSMC was set up in 2006 following a national review of health-related campaigns and

social marketing in England. Social marketing’s primary aim is to achieve a particular

‘social good’ as opposed to commercial benefit, with clearly defined behavioural goals.

Community Food and Health (Scotland)

Community Food and Health (Scotland) promotes a

national, strategic focus on low income communities

facing barriers (availability, affordability, culture,

skills) to accessing a healthy diet. The project also

has a complementary operational dimension, adding value to the activities of low income

communities, and those supporting them, in tackling these barriers.

The project was established in 1996 and is funded by the Scottish Government.

In 2010-2011 Community Food and Health (Scotland) will be in the final year of its current

30-month business plan. Therefore, it is expected that the two major overarching factors

in the work programme in 2010-2011 will be successfully completing the delivery of the

current business plan and negotiating a business plan with Government for a further

period.

Key areas of work will include:

encouraging and enabling the unique ability of the community and voluntary sector to reach excluded, disadvantaged and vulnerable communities. It is likely this will involve building on work with homeless people, disabled people, older people, and black and minority ethnic communities

improving the resilience of the community and voluntary sector, taking forward current activity building the capacity of individuals and organisations around social enterprise, evaluation and applied nutrition


promoting the relevance of the sector to the delivery of identified national food and health priorities within existing and currently evolving Government policies (Healthy Eating, Active Living; National Food and Drink Policy; Maternal and Infant Nutrition Strategy) and the associated outcomes-focused national performance management and planning systems

All these activities will be complemented by the team’s well-established and popular

quarterly newsletter, website, small grant scheme and annual

conference.

healthyliving award

The healthyliving award aims to make it easier for people to know

where to go for healthier food when eating out. Funded by the Scottish

Government, the award makes it easier for people to recognise and

select healthier food.

The healthyliving award recognises an organisation-wide commitment to provide and

support healthier eating, as expressed through the menu; the way in which food is

prepared; the marketing and promotional activities used and the way in which food is

presented and sold. It rewards establishments that are committed to actively and

continuously reducing the amount of fat, salt and sugar in the food they provide and

increasing the provision of fruit and vegetables.

The work plan for 2010-11 will be structured around the following five headings:

1. Engaging with the catering industry – we will continue to engage with the catering industry to encourage participation in the healthyliving award:

2. Engaging with the high street sector – we will actively engage with and promote the award to companies providing food on the high street and to family eateries

3. Addressing health inequalities – we will actively engage with food outlets in low-income communities to make it easier for people to access healthier food choices

4. Marketing and promotion – we will work to increase exposure of the award brand, and to increase brand awareness and recognition among both caterers and consumers

5. Engaging with stakeholders – we will strengthen and develop links with existing and new stakeholders. In addition we will strengthen links with other relevant initiatives, at both local and national level, for example other award schemes, catering initiatives etc, to ensure synergy and a consistency in approach where appropriate

The Scottish Accessible Information Forum (SAIF)

SAIF promotes and provides guidance on the provision of accessible information for disabled people and carers. Established in 1997, it is a Scotland-wide project funded by the Scottish Government with Section 10 funding on a three year cycle. The work of the project is directed by the SAIF advisory body which is made up of disabled people and information providers. Key areas of work for SAIF during 2010/11 will be:

delivering a training programme and responding to requests for in-house training

promoting and meeting demand for the SAIF Standards for Disability Information and Advice Provision in Scotland and the wide range of other SAIF publications

working with local authorities, health services and other public sector bodies to help them implement accessible information policies and strategies


promoting and maximising use of the new SAIF website

producing regular e-newsletters

promoting an updated Scottish Directory of Alternative Formats Providers

looking to promote and providing guidance for producing easy-read materials

negotiating with quality assurance systems for the inclusion of SAIF Standards

considering organisational and funding options for beyond March 2011 when the current Section 10 grant finishes

Health Rights Information Scotland

Health Rights Information Scotland (HRIS) aims to

produce nationally relevant patient information

products focusing on patients’ rights, and to ensure

that patients and members of the public, as well as

NHS staff, are involved in this process.

HRIS is funded by the Scottish Government, and managed by Consumer Focus Scotland

and its work has been recognised at UK level. At the British Medical Association (BMA)

Patient Information Awards 2009, HRIS’ leaflet ‘Have your say! Your right to be heard’

was awarded a ‘highly commended’ certificate. The panel of judges described the leaflet

as ‘a clearly and attractively produced booklet pitched well at its target audience with

good signposting’. This builds on HRIS’ previous achievement, winning first prize for its

‘Confidentiality – your rights’ leaflet at the same awards ceremony in 2007.

Key activities for 2010/11 will include:

producing, maintaining and updating high quality and consistent information for patients throughout Scotland about their health rights

ensuring accessibility of the information produced, in terms of format, language and style

promoting appropriate patient and public involvement in information production

advising and assisting others in producing good quality information for patients by acting as an effective and accessible resource for those involved in producing patient information throughout the NHS and voluntary sector


Strengthening our capacity to deliver results

Corporate services

Corporate services support Consumer Focus’s core business activities through the

provision of information technology systems, records management, people management,

financial services, procurement and administrative support. In offering these essential

support functions, the department aims to develop leading business practices that enable

Consumer Focus to effectively deliver the work set out in the Annual Plan.

In addition to our specific work proposals and progress on corporate services, Consumer

Focus plans a number of cross-cutting organisational initiatives which will underpin the

quality of our policy development, our connection to real consumer experience and our

ability to make an impact on behalf of consumers.

Organisational development

Below are the organisational development projects we think will enable Consumer Focus

to most effectively deliver our work and prepare for the future.

1. Consumer Conditions Survey 2011

We will conduct a new UK-wide Consumer Conditions Survey (CCS). It will be a key

source of evidence for determining high level priorities for 2011-12.

The survey will provide new baseline information on consumer views, across the UK, on

most private sector markets and link in to the CCS in public sector markets in the 2010

survey using a comparable set of questions.

We aim to:

strengthen our ability to determine priorities that reflect consumer needs, thus ensuring that attention is focused on the areas of greatest need

2. Information and consumer behaviour change

Effective information is crucial to protect consumers from harm, help them make better

choices and ensure markets work effectively. We want to make sure that the information

provided to consumers takes into account their needs, and ensure that Government and

businesses do not overload consumers with information.

The project builds on existing expertise within Consumer Focus to bring together a

comprehensive list of consumer principles concerning communication and the provision

of information. These will be applied to a variety of markets, to provide us with case

studies showing both good and bad practice. We will use these principles along with the

case studies to advocate for improved consumer focused information provision with

NGOs, business and Government at UK, EU and global levels.


We aim to achieve:

a consolidated and comprehensive list of consumer principles concerning communication and information provision

improved information provision by NGOs, business and Government

a strengthened knowledge base for Consumer Focus to identify specific issues of communication and information provision

3. Behavioural economics, consumer interest and financial markets

It is normally assumed that consumers behave perfectly and have the time and skill to

make ‘optimal decisions’. The reality is that consumers are short of time, have unspecific

and inconsistent preferences, and cannot always calculate the best product for them.

Behavioural economics attempts to understand and compensate for the ‘imperfect’

consumer in policy making and product design. This work will review thinking on

behavioural economics and apply it to Consumer Focus's activities regarding consumer

behaviour, product and service design and best practice in regulation.

We will apply lessons learnt from this approach to two financial services markets in order

to gain insights into how to improve their function for consumers.


Consumer Focus is better able to respond to areas of consumer detriment based on insights into consumer behaviour

financial inclusion is improved by helping overcome the barriers of complexity and lack of trust

Over the longer term, these impacts will help to ensure that:

Consumer Focus is in a stronger position to argue for greater consumer welfare and financial inclusion

there is a richer engagement between Consumer Focus, regulators and market participants on the design and promotion of products and the operation of markets

4. Consumer empowerment

This work will build on current activities in energy and post to develop an innovative and

effective new consumer empowerment model. It will draw on work by predecessor bodies

and harness existing structures in the wider advice provision community.

We will develop targeted online empowerment resources, consumer information

(including energy pricing comparison) and generalist agencies (via our Partners’ website

and Knowledge Base). This will support the work of the new Consumer Advocate,

scoping new markets for empowerment provision, building relationships with key partners

in other markets to raise our profile, and identifying trends to address consumer

detriment.

Working with advice providers ensures that a wide range of consumers are made aware

of their rights and options. Harder to reach consumers will also gain access to Knowledge

Base information that is factual and up to date

We aim to:

consolidate and strengthen the existing consumer empowerment approach to support the information and advice function of the Consumer Advocate


improve and hasten the ability to communicate new policy developments to a wider audience

establish new sources of consumer intelligence

continue to develop Consumer Focus’s sound evidence base

drive up overall service standards in the energy industry, as consumers are made more aware of their rights and put pressure on industry to deliver them

5. Evaluating impact

This project is intended to develop a common structure and standard of practice for

evaluating the impact of Consumer Focus’s advocacy and policy change work.

It should ensure a better standard of practice allowing Consumer Focus to apply strategic

learning to future work, ensuring that the value delivered to consumers continues to

increase over time.

We aim to:

strengthen organisational transparency and capacity to plan, evaluate and demonstrate (with credibility) the impact of our work

improve management of our advocacy and policy work

improve ability to demonstrate a theory of change in the work we undertake

improve strategic planning, programme implementation and project planning

6. Annual reputation audit

We will conduct an annual survey of stakeholders to establish the perceived performance

of Consumer Focus, its senior management and staff. Careful consideration will be given

to ensuring proper representation of national stakeholders and the ability to report

separately across Consumer Focus, Consumer Focus Scotland, Consumer Focus Wales

and Consumer Focus Post (Northern Ireland).

Consumers will benefit from a better allocation of resources and better focus on

communicating to stakeholders about what we do, why we do it and why it makes a

difference to consumers.

We aim to:

improve the way we operate and communicate to achieve core goals. There could be changes in focus, in operating procedures, in work priorities or in communications

7. Rural consumers

We will develop a rural consumer policy and campaigns strategy to strengthen our

capacity to advocate on behalf of rural consumers in sectors where they face particular

detriment.

Rural policy is a devolved area in Scotland and Wales.

Our focus will be to ensure that rural consumers will be more empowered to take action

when they suffer detriment and should make better informed purchasing decisions.

We aim to:

improve policy and practice within Consumer Focus.

strengthen our capacity to advocate in the best interests of rural consumers


create greater public awareness of our work on behalf of rural consumers and among key decision makers

8. Staff engagement framework

With the prospect of more change on the horizon in the form of a new CEO and the

introduction of a proposed Consumer Advocate it is important that we make employee

engagement a priority area to ensure people remain focused and motivated to achieve

our overall objectives.

The work planned comprises three separate projects but they are all interlinked:

the development and delivery of a staff engagement survey

the development and delivery of a staff event

the development and implementation of a staff engagement framework

By creating an environment where staff feel empowered with a clear purpose and sense

of direction there will be a greater sense of communal ownership and accountability for

what the organisation must achieve. This should result in lower turnover of staff, fewer

sick days and a workforce that is motivated to deliver for consumers at the highest level.

We aim to ensure:

staff have a better understanding of our strategic direction and priorities

trust and confidence in senior management and their decision-making processes

staff feel empowered, valued and trusted to get on with the job

a competent and confident two-way communication culture

9. European and international stakeholder engagement

Develop and roll out stakeholder engagement strategy on the European and international

level in order to:

build our profile within the European/international institutions and develop partnerships with stakeholders campaigning on similar policies

increase our role within, and influence work plans and policy positions of, BEUC (the European consumer organisation), Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue and Consumers International through our membership

ensure the early identification and assessment of draft new policies likely to impact upon UK consumers and the effective engagement of Consumer Focus to inform the policy and legislative processes

raise awareness within the European/international institutions of evidence of new or continuing cases of consumer detriment and initiate action to address this

We aim to:

raise Consumer Focus’s profile on some issues, raise awareness of some issues on the EU level and promote our policies


10. Market studies and intelligence gathering

This work will explore opportunities to broaden our research and policy role at the EU and

international level. It will also identify potential for cross-country research projects that

support our work programmes. Our intelligence gathering and cross-country research will

reveal consumer detriment and will be the key vehicle to foster consumer protection

especially in the markets which have transnational dimension.

We aim to:

develop our engagement, influence and leadership in European and international policy making through building research base and the development of cross-country projects on issues that have transnational dimensions

11. Embedding a sustainability strategy within our work

We seek to embed sustainability as an essential component in everything we do. In

2010-11 we will examine our approach and undertake work to develop and embed a

strategic approach to sustainability in all that we do.

We aim to:

refine our approach to corporate planning to ensure due account is taken of sustainability in our work

target resources efficiently and effectively to enable Consumer Focus to add value in a crowded landscape


Pride in Performance

Evaluating success We use a balanced scorecard approach to measure and report on our work. The balanced scorecard offers a performance model to evaluate the areas in which we must excel in order to most effectively deliver a fair deal for consumers. Our success is measured across four distinct perspectives, and against a number of strategic objectives within each, as shown below.

Consumers and stakeholders

‘Achieving positive outcomes for

consumers’

Learning and development

‘Sustaining our ability to change and

improve’

To deliver the programmes set out in the

Annual Plan

To provide high quality customer service

to support vulnerable people with

complaints about energy and postal

services, via the Extra Help Unit

To be seen by consumers and

stakeholders as being influential and to

have an impact

To ensure the continuous development of

employee skills and expertise

To promote high staff performance by

ensuring that staff feel valued and

motivated

Process and innovation

‘Having efficient operations and internal

processes’

Financial management

‘Achieving results in an efficient manner

that minimises costs’

To deliver high priority and effective

corporate services activities

To promote effective cross-collaboration

and a co-ordination of efforts in delivering

our work

To provide realistic financial forecasts and

monitor expenditure against budget, using

property efficiently and effectively

To ensure value for money and promote

cost savings

We will use key performance indicators (KPIs) to track our progress against each objective for the year in question. The KPIs are kept under review to ensure they truly reflect the key drivers of our work and provide appropriate information with which to manage the organisation.


Funding and risks

Budget 2010-11

The core operational budget for 2010-11, covering basic running costs and the forward

work programme, will be similar to the current year which is £15m. There will be some

changes between years, with an anticipated funding reduction on the Department for

Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) financed work of 10 per cent (£600,000) offset by

additional BIS funding for the new Consumer Advocate.

In 2010-11 it is estimated that we will spend £5.7m in our work for energy customers and

£3.4m in relation to consumers of relevant postal services. These figures will be finalised

after consultation on the draft Annual Plan and the separate consultation on the new

Consumer Advocate. They will be set out in the final version of our Annual Plan to be

published in March 2010.

These figures exclude ongoing property liability costs and externally funded projects

which are currently the work of the National Social Marketing Centre (NSMC) and work

undertaken for the Scottish Government. The budgets for these areas will be finalised in

early 2010.

For illustrative purposes only, our main funding streams for 2009-10 can be represented

as follows:


How to respond

Our consultation runs from 9 November 2009 to 9 February 2010. Comments on the

annual plan can be sent to any of our offices:

Consumer Focus:

Lord Whitty

Chair

Consumer Focus

4th Floor, Artillery House

Artillery Row

London

SW1P 1RT

Or alternatively you can email:

consultation.responses@ consumerfocus.org.uk

Consumer Focus Scotland:

Douglas Sinclair

Chair


Royal Exchange House

100 Queen Street

Glasgow

G1 3DN


[email protected]

Consumer Focus Wales:

Vivienne Sugar

Chair


3rd Floor, Capital Tower

Greyfriars Road

Cardiff

CF10 3AG


[email protected]

Consumer Focus Post (Northern Ireland):

Rick Hill

Chair

Consumer Focus Post

Elizabeth House

116 Holywood Road

Belfast

BT4 1NY


[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]







Questions for stakeholders

This consultation seeks your views on – four key questions:

1. What are your views on our proposed projects for 2010-2011?

2. How can they be improved? Are there any that should be dropped?

3. Are there other projects you feel we should be involved in? Please specify these and explain why.

4. To which projects should we give priority?

Next steps

Following the consultation period, we will review responses in February 2010 and submit

the final Plan to the Consumer Focus Board for sign off at its meeting on 25 March 2010.


Consumer Focus Draft Annual Plan 2010-11 for consultation 9 November 2009 – 9 February 2010

www.consumerfocus.org.uk

Copyright: Consumer Focus

Published: November 2009

If you require this publication in Braille, large print or on audio CD please contact us.

For the deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired, contact Consumer Focus via

Text Relay:

From a textphone, call 18001 020 7799 7900

From a telephone, call 18002 0207 799 7900

Consumer Focus

4th Floor

Artillery House

Artillery Row

London SW1P 1RT

Tel: 020 7799 7900

Fax: 020 7799 7901

Media Team: 020 7799 8004 / 8005 / 8006

consumer focus draft annual plan 2010-11 for consultation

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