Clause 11
Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Bill
5:45 pm
Ian McCartney (Minister of State (Trade & Investment), Department of Trade and Industry; Makerfield, Labour)
In that respect, “novel” does indeed mean new, but clause 11 will permit the new council to investigate other issues as well. We are therefore providing the new council with a wide scope, which I am sure that we all want to see, as it will give the council direction when exercising its powers of investigation.
I have heard the assertion that consumers will be stranded by the new arrangements. In the discussions on planning for implementation, the consumer bodies made it clear that they have no consistent means of recording contacts, inquiries and complaints and that they have no means of distinguishing the instances where consumers may be merely referred to companies or elsewhere for assistance. Consequently, consumer bodies have asked my Department to undertake a special project to get to the bottom of that matter, and we have agreed to do so with their assistance. That relates to one of the points made by the hon. Member for Richmond Park about certainty of what the process involves and about learning from the experiences of consumers, the issues that they raise and how best to resolve them.
The project consultants will first review the classification criteria across bodies—for example, contacts, inquiries, complaints, complex complaints and complex inquiries. Secondly, they will identify a set of comparable data between the bodies on volume and type of all contacts. Thirdly, they will map how inquiries and complaints are handled. Fourthly, they will develop recommendations for how designated vulnerable consumers, as defined by the Bill, will be identified across the bodies. Fifthly, they will apply any definition developed to provide a cut of the current data relating to consumers who might be identified as designated vulnerable consumers. It is important to future debates that we can make decisions based on evidence and in a way that is effective for consumers, particularly vulnerable consumers.
The project is currently under way, and I hope that work will be complete by the end of April or the beginning of May. I assure the hon. Members for Richmond Park and for Hertford and Stortford that when work is complete, I will brief them on the outcome. From my perspective, I want to provide certainty and an assurance to all concerned in the implementation of the project that no one will be left guessing about the direction that we are taking to set up the new organisation. When it is established, the organisation’s introduction will be phased in, so that everyone—not just consumers, but those who have taken the time to develop the proposal’s structure—can be certain about it. I hope that that explanation helps hon. Members.
The hon. Lady’s legitimate question referred to the implementation strategy, which we will discuss in more detail during a later sitting, when we have more information about this serious matter.