Public Bodies Bill

Memorandum submitted by Consumer Focus Wales (PB 04)

1. About us

1.1. Consumer Focus Wales is the independent citizen voice standing up for citizens in Wales in the public and private sectors, in devolved and non devolved areas with a strong focus on vulnerable consumers.

1.2. In advocating for consumers we aim to influence change and shape policy to better reflect the needs of consumers. We do this in an informed way owing to the evidence we gather through research and our unique knowledge of consumer issues. We have a specific focus on vulnerable consumers, particularly those on low incomes, people with disabilities, people living in rural areas and older people. In addition, we also seek to identify where other consumers may be disproportionally disadvantaged by an issue or policy.

2. Summary

2.1. The Public Bodies Bill will abolish Consumer Focus Wales but does recognise that the work undertaken by the organisation needs to continue.

2.2. The Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) issued a consultation on these proposals on 21 June which will run until 27 September 2011.The current proposal is that this work will be taken on by the Citizens Advice service in England and Wales and Citizens Advice Scotland.

2.3. The Welsh Government has declared that it wishes to see the functions of Consumer Focus Wales retained in Wales. It has also stated that it is to introduce a National Trading Standards Service for Wales and that it will institute a complete review of public service delivery and governance in Wales.

2.4. The BIS consultation on the future arrangements for consumer advocacy do not close until the 27 September 2011. The Welsh Government’s plans for Trading Standards will not be executed until 2013 and the review of public service delivery is yet to be timetabled.

2.5. As such, it will not be possible for these to inform the scrutiny work of the Public Bodies Bill Committee despite the obvious relevance that these have to the outcomes of the Bill.

2.6. A potential solution would be for the Bill to be amended, devolving decisions about functional (but not Ministerial) arrangements to the Welsh Government. Such an amendment already exists in the Bill, devolving decisions regarding the arrangements of environmental bodies to the Welsh Government.

2.7. The amendment would not preclude the options proposed in the current BIS consultation, but would ensure that the final decision provided joined-up thinking with the other specific Welsh policy developments outlined above.

3. Our evidence

3.1. We are the independent citizen voice standing up for citizens in Wales in the public and private sectors, in devolved and non devolved areas with a strong focus on vulnerable consumers. This enables us uniquely to work between public services and business e.g. food hygiene standards in food businesses.

3.2. In energy we have undertaken a wide range of work including leading work on the impact of the off gas market on people in Wales . Following our resulting call on the Office of Fair Trading to introduce a code of practice for the suppliers of oil, LPG and coal, in March 2011 the Office of Fair Trading announced that it is to undertake a market study on energy supplies to people who are off the main gas grids.. Our expertise in energy has been recognised by the Welsh Government who regularly receive briefings from us prior to their meetings with the ‘Big 6’ energy companies. We also play an active role in these meetings as the voice of consumers. This year, we are also working on switching suppliers in Wales, top tips for buying oil, energy issues in the private rented sector and children in fuel poverty.

3.3. In Post , our monitoring of the quality of service provided by Royal Mail, has led to Royal Mail seeking to communicate better with consumers and stakeholders in Wales where there are problems and consumers being better informed about how to make the most of the service they receive from Royal Mail. W e are currently mapping local authority use of the trusted post office network to deliver services and share best practise, we will research how people receive parcels, essential to SMEs and identify and seek to address difficulties in collection, and will research and influence the post office ‘Locals’ model which potentially will have a huge impact on communities in Wales.

3.4. Our independent status enabled us to act as ‘honest broker’ when pushing forward the implementation of the recommendations of the Pennington Inquiry into the outbreak of E-coli O157 in Wales and has led to a greater priority and awareness of food safety in Wales and a review of food law both here in Wales and at UK level. We called for further guidance on the separation of equipment in food preparation, one of the main causes of e-coli 0157, which has been issued for consultation by the Food Standards Agency

3.5. We are also work ing with trading standards to promote awareness of shoppers rights ; investigating what needs to be done to protect park home residents in Wales and to ensure the work of the new Welsh language Commissioner reflects consumer needs. Further detail about our work is at: http://www.consumerfocus.org.uk/wales/files/2011/05/CFW-workplan-2011-12-external.pdf.

3.6. All the statutory functions of the Consumer Focus UK Board as they pertain to Wales were devolved in law to the Board of Consumer Focus Wales in the Consumer Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007 . These are:

3.6.1. General power of investigation to investigate any issue which we consider may affect consumers

3.6.2. Investigation of complaints made by vulnerable energy or post consumers including complaints relating to disconnection of gas and electricity

3.6.3. Investigations relating to public post offices (number and location of post offices)

3.6.4. Power to publish advice, information and guidance

3.6.5. Power to co-operate with any person necessary to carry out one of our functions

3.6.6. Power to request information from any person (including all partnerships, corporate public and private bodies ) supplying goods or services in the course of a business and apply to court or the regulators should they not comply

3.6.7. Power to make ‘supercomplaints’ about markets that are failing consumers, under the Enterprise Act 2002

3.7. Based on consumer workshops held across Wales, in depth research and working with partners, the Board of Consumer Focus Wales decides on the work programme which will make the greatest impact for consumers in Wales.

4. The Public Bodies Bill

4.1. The Public Bodies Bill proposes that Consumer Focus be abolished and that whatever parts of our remit that the UK Government decides should remain would be transferred to Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland.

4.2. The Bill, as currently drafted, enables the statutory functions of Consumer Focus Wales to be transferred to Welsh Ministers (clause 1(3)a). The Government of Wales Act 2006 enables Welsh Ministers to make arrangements with any public authority to exercise those statutory functions (clause 83)

5. The BIS consultation on proposed changes to the Consumer Landscape

5.1. The consultation on these proposed changes was issued by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (our sponsor department), on 21 June and will run until the 27 September.

5.2. It is unlikely that the UK Government will be able to consider the responses and put forward their final proposals after the end of the consultation (27 September) in time for them to be scrutinised by the Bill Committee.

6. The Welsh Government’s Programme of Work

6.1. In its manifesto the Welsh Government stated its support for maintaining the functions of Consumer Focus in Wales and has committed to a number of actions that may affect the way in which consumers are represented and protected.

6.2. One of the actions was to create a National Trading Standards Service for Wales. No formal plans have been published for this as yet but a timetable for creating the service by 2013 has been suggested as reasonable.

6.3. The Welsh Government has also committed to reviewing public service delivery in Wales as a result of an Independent Review of the Governance of Wales.

7. The desired outcome: a service that fits Wales and serves Wales

7.1. The following issues need to be addressed fully in order for arrangements in Wales to be fit for purpose.

7.2. Those charged with representing the interests of consumers and citizens in Wales should be in some way accountable to the National Assembly for Wales and the Welsh Government.

7.3. New arrangements should require a Wales-based and focused body, with robust Governance arrangements that ensure decisions are made in Wales about what work is undertaken.

7.4. Key will be sustainable funding, including the transfer of funding from BIS, both from the levies on the energy and postal sectors (paid in part by consumers in Wales) and, potentially, general funding as any organisation will continue to work on non-devolved subjects from a Welsh perspective.

7.5. The principle of funding a separate body to undertake this function in the Nations via levy and BIS funding has already been accepted with Citizens Advice Scotland being the chosen delivery partner in Scotland.

7.6. It is essential to retain both a level of expertise and strong statutory powers in Wales, and that arrangements have at their heart the representative, research, information and investigation functions that Consumer Focus already holds.

7.7. Sources of information shouldn’t be limited to any one advice agency or reactive to existing problems. They must also include forward looking work and all-population research that provides a strong evidence base on the issues facing Welsh consumers.

8. The Future

8.1. In the consultation proposals, the UK Government has said that they are open to different approaches in Wales and Scotland and will work with devolved administrations (section 1.28)

8.2. The Bill already contains an amendment making provision for different arrangements in Wales in relation to the functions of the Environment Agency and the Forestry Commission in so far as they relate to Wales (clause 13).

8.3. Future arrangements for Wales need to dovetail with plans for a National Trading Standards Service for Wales and any changes brought forward as a result of the Independent Review of Governance.

8.4. Neither of these actions will be completed by the time the Public Bodies Bill completes its passage through Parliament.

8.5. The Bill could be amended relatively simply to provide power for the Welsh Ministers to establish a body corporate and power for them to transfer the statutory functions of Consumer Focus Wales to that new body corporate and for that body to be accountable to the Welsh Government and the BIS Secretary of State or the National Assembly for Wales.

8.6. By voting for the introduction of such an amendment, members would not be determining the outcome of the amendment but would be enabling Welsh Ministers to consider the proposals that result from the current consultation alongside their plans for citizen advocacy, public service delivery and a National Trading Standards Service for Wales.

Appendix 1: Background Information

a. Currently, Consumer Focus Wales (CFW) is a statutory body, with statutory duties in regards to the postal and energy sectors and to protect the most vulnerable in society; and with statutory powers of investigation, reporting and advocacy.

b. We operate a federal structure alongside Consumer Focus GB, Consumer Focus Northern Ireland and Consumer Focus Scotland.

c. The existence of the Board of CFW, and it’s responsibilities to enact most of the functions of Consumer Focus GB, as they pertain to Wales, is also set out in statute.

d. As such, CFW enjoys a level of autonomy that gives it complete control over its own workplan and policy. It can undertake research and campaign on subjects that affect the lives of people in Wales without seeking the approval of a London-based authority.

e. Our workplan and our priorities are set firstly by our statutory responsibilities, and then via consultation with a broad range of consumers and stakeholders. The aim is to be an evidence-based voice for consumers that is absent elsewhere and that can achieve impact.

f. In the past 2 years, since our inception, we have undertaken work in a broad range of policy areas, examples of our work include:

f.1. Energy: Our investigation team based in Wales helped secure £70 million in refunds from NPower for UK consumers; we were a founder member of the Fuel Poverty Coalition Cymru; we are the only organisation able to provide reports on the big six energy suppliers’ treatment of their customers.

f.2. Food safety - As a result of our work the Welsh Government has now asked the Food Standards Agency to undertake a comprehensive review of food law enforcement in Wales; further guidance has now been issued by the Food Standards Authority on the separation of equipment in food preparation, one of the main causes of e-coli O157; we are campaigning for mandatory display of food hygiene ratings to be introduced in Wales.  9 out of 10 consumers in Wales have told us this is what they want.

f.3. Postal services: As a result of our joint work, the Welsh Government now include a requirement to consult with the local population as part of the Post Office Diversification Fund application; to help Sub-Postmasters with this we have produced a step-by-step guide on how to undertake consultation and diversification; we monitor Royal Mail’s quality of service figures for Wales each quarter, and publish these results in our postal report. We are also seeking to ensure that the needs of Welsh consumers heard in discussions about the future of the post office network.

f.4. Financial Services: We are named as a key partner in the Welsh Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy. Our research is seen as fundamental to the effectiveness and success of the strategy; we have created evidence bases taking the financial health of the nation and focussing on key marginalised groups – older people, families living in poverty and care leavers – to enable the formulation of credible public policy.

f.5. Welsh language: we have ensured the voice of consumers has been heard in the debate around new Welsh Language Laws and better represented in the resulting Measure. Our evidence to the scrutiny process was based on our unique survey of attitudes among Welsh speaking service users.

f.6. Digital Switchover: Our research found poor advice being given by aerial installers across Wales. This led to us working with Digital UK, Consumer Direct and Citizens Advice Bureaux to protect consumers from being ripped off during Digital Switchover.  If only 10% of the consumers who saw our advertising campaign were prevented from being scammed it will have saved them over £400,000.

September 2011