Consumer Focus Scotland welcomes the opportunity to provide written evidence to the Scotland Bill committee. Consumers in Scotland are in the main very similar to consumers in the rest of the UK. But on occasion, Scotland’s different geography and demography needs to be taken into account if fairness is to be achieved. Much of Scotland is rural and/or remote, for instance; this remoteness from urban centres often means fewer choices for consumers in relation to services such as energy, transport, telecommunications and retail services. Consumers in Scotland are also more likely to be economically disadvantaged than UK consumers in general, and are more loyal in their habits, often favouring Scottish service providers as a matter of principle and being less likely to switch providers to save money.
Rather than addressing all of the questions set out in the committee’s call for evidence, this evidence focuses on issues which are likely to affect consumers in Scotland most directly.