By: Roger Darlington
Future of Ofcom Consumer Panel
The Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Bill - which will merge Postwatch and Energywatch with the National Consumer Council - received its First Reading in the House of Lords on Thursday. A date for Second Reading has been yet for 4 December.
Under the Government’s original proposals, there was a possibility that the Ofcom Consumer Panel and the FSA Consumer Panel would be drawn into the ambit of the new Consumer Voice, but it has been decided that both panels will continue to stand outside the new body but with the addition of a member drawn from Consumer Voice.
The full text of the Bill is here. Clause 39 specifically refers to the Ofcom Consumer Panel and makes provision for the appointment of a member of the Panel who is a non-executive member of the National Consumer Council/Consumer Voice.
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