Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Bill
The next item of business is consideration of motion S2M-5398, in the name of Nicol Stephen, on the Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Bill, which is United Kingdom legislation.
Motion moved,
That the Parliament endorses the principle of giving consumers an effective voice as set out in the Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Bill, introduced in the House of Lords on 16 November 2006, and agrees that the relevant provisions to achieve this end in the Bill should be considered by the UK Parliament.—[Allan Wilson.]
Before I feel that I can vote for the legislative consent motion, I would like clarification on three points in the Scottish Executive's legislative consent memorandum.
First, paragraph 6 says that the new national consumer council
"will have a power to make representations to Scottish Ministers"
but that the Scottish ministers do not have to pay any attention to those representations. That does not appear to be a sensible proposition. Will the minister indicate whether the Scottish ministers would take some notice of those representations?
Secondly, paragraph 8 of the LCM says that the bill gives a power to change the arrangements for complaints about water in England and Wales, transferring the relevant functions to the national consumer council. There is no such power for Scotland. What does the minister propose for complaints procedure regarding water in Scotland in the future?
Thirdly, paragraph 10 says:
"The Bill will also enable Regulators in the gas, electricity and postal sectors to prescribe complaints handling standards".
It is not clear whether that applies in Scotland. Will the regulators have those powers in Scotland?
I am pleased to give the member the clarification and reassurance that he seeks. The Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Bill aims to strengthen the position of consumers. Much of the bill, of course, applies to reserved areas. The part with devolved aspects provides for the creation of a new national consumer council, with a committee for Scotland to be known as the Scottish consumer council.
The core functions of the council will involve representation, research and the provision of information. That will include the power to make representations to Scottish ministers, but it will not impose a duty on Scottish ministers to act on those representations. We have the power, but Scottish ministers are given flexibility in deciding on the appropriate responses to representations.
The new Scottish consumer council will also have certain powers to investigate consumer complaints, but it will not have regulatory powers. Its remit will extend to all consumer areas, including food safety, which is devolved. Any activities of the council that go beyond the consumer protection reservation in the Scotland Act 1998 will be devolved. It is important that the new council has those powers to enable it to exercise its functions in that area of consumer activity. That is why the legislative consent motion is required. If it is not agreed to, the council will be unable effectively to represent the interests of Scottish consumers.
A number of important points were raised at the meeting of the Enterprise and Culture Committee on 9 January. The Department of Trade and Industry, which is leading on the bill, has taken a careful note of the points that were made and is considering what can be done to respond effectively to those concerns. I know that the DTI wishes to ensure that the current excellent work of the Scottish Consumer Council can continue. We have made it clear to the DTI that the bill should enable the council to continue the work that it is doing now.
As Donald Gorrie mentions, the bill also merges the United Kingdom consumer bodies Postwatch and energywatch into the new council, which will exercise an important Scottish function in relation to postal and energy customers. That function will allow the DTI to address concerns in those areas in Scotland. In particular, the DTI is considering ways to enhance the provisions of the bill to cover prepayment consumers and consumers who are in danger of disconnection. That comes in addition to existing provisions in relation to consumers who are disconnected. The Enterprise and Culture Committee had raised that point.
Turning to the final point that Mr Gorrie raised, I note that the bill will indeed allow
"Regulators in the gas, electricity and postal sectors to prescribe complaints handling standards"
for suppliers, including those who supply to Scottish consumers. However, the Scottish Parliament will retain the ability to create or alter consumer bodies in devolved areas, as we have already done in relation to water utilities, for example.
I ask the Parliament to support the Executive's motion.
The question on the motion will be put at decision time.