Clause 10
Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Bill
5:30 pm
Mark Prisk (Shadow Minister (Small Businesses and Enterprise), Trade & Industry; Hertford and Stortford, Conservative)
I should like to deal with the two amendments together and with the arguments at the heart of each of them. The amendments seek to ensure that the new National Consumer Council provides the essential information about its activities and functions to all consumers. We debated earlier the need for openness and the vital function of that transparency if the National Consumer Council is to establish itself as a genuine voice and an advocate, as the Minister put it, for consumers.
At present, the clause merely suggests that the Secretary of State may
“facilitate the dissemination...of advice and information”.
That is a well-meaning phrase, but it feels rather generalised and undirected, could be open to interpretation and will fall short of how I suspect most consumers would expect that new body to function. There is also a danger that, unless there is a clear prescriptive intention, the council and its various component parts—we learned earlier that many of the council’s functions will be delegated down through its territorial and other committees—might not ensure that many key consumer issues are disseminated.
Concerns also extend to the dissemination of information about the council and its functions. As I have argued elsewhere, it is vital that not only is the council open in its functions and operation, but is seen to be open. The Minister has been positive in respect of similar amendments, so I should be interested to hear whether he accepts my points and whether, in doing so, he can provide some assurance.