Fairness and the Consumer conference – 29 October 2009
Conference report
Consumer Focus Scotland’s Fairness and the Consumer Conference took place at the Roxburghe Hotel, Edinburgh on Thursday 29th October. The conference was organised as an opportunity for participants to discuss the impact of the recession on vulnerable consumers. Around 120 delegates from a wide range of organisations attended. The day was chaired by Professor Alan Alexander FRSE, Emeritus Professor of Local and Public Management, Strathclyde Business School.
Speakers
Stewart Stevenson MSP, Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change
The Minister focused on public service reform and the Scottish Government’s plans for simplifying Scotland’s public sector landscape and make it easier for service users to interact with them. He also addressed the issue of external scrutiny and the new arrangements in the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Bill.
Douglas Sinclair, Chair, Consumer Focus Scotland
Douglas Sinclair’s speech examined the issue of fairness for Scottish consumers in a wider context, asking how well the needs and interests of Scottish consumers are recognised and served, and whether Scottish consumers are getting a fair deal.
Dr John Fingleton, Chief Executive, Office of Fair Trading
Dr Fingleton spoke about the consumer interest in fair markets and the work that the Office of Fair Trading is doing to promote fairer market during the recession.
Lorna Jack, Chief Executive, Law Society of Scotland
Lorna Jack talked about the changes that are ongoing at the Law Society of Scotland and some of the topical issues around civil justice reform, including the Legal Services (Scotland) Bill and the report of the Gill review.
Breakout sessions
Breakout sessions, which were run in the morning and afternoon, covered seven different policy issues. You can read the key outcomes or discussion points from each breakout session here.
Panel Session
Martyn Evans outgoing Director of Consumer Focus Scotland, Kyla Brand Scottish Representative of the Office of Fair Trading and Lorna Jack from the Law Society of Scotland took questions from the audience on a range of key issues for consumers in the recession.
Electronic voting
Delegates used an electronic voting system to give their opinions on a series of questions at two points during the conference. The full results can be seen here.
Delegates
A list of those who attended the conference can be downloaded here.
Further information
If you have any questions about the conference please contact Ryan Norton on 0141 227 1852 or ryan.norton@consumerfocus.org.uk