Representation of consumer interests in Wales

Representation of consumer interests in Wales PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Welsh Affairs Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215040268
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 60

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Book Description
Consumer advocacy plays an important part in the Welsh economy. Organisations including Consumer Focus Wales and Citizens Advice represent consumers' interests in their dealings with businesses, industry regulators and the UK and Welsh Governments. A significant aspect of their work is to ensure that consumers receive a fair deal in their daily lives. Advocacy is particularly important to those termed the most vulnerable in Welsh society. The Government announced its plans in October 2010 to abolish Consumer Focus Wales and to transfer some or all of its functions to Citizens Advice Cymru. The final decision will be taken once Ministers have considered the findings of the public consultation. But this delay has caused on going uncertainty and the Committee calls on the Government to publish without delay its detailed plans. MPs are not wholly persuaded by the Government's reasons for abolishing Consumer Focus Wales, but recognise that given the current financial situation there is a strong case for examining whether consumer interests are represented in the most efficient and cost-effective way. However, the Government should provide guarantees that the best features of Consumer Focus Wales are protected in any successor body, including: statutory independence from interference by ministers or its parent organization; a "Welsh focus" and the present level of funding. As consumer matters fall increasingly under the responsibility of the National Assembly for Wales, the committee calls for a review, on whether to devolve responsibility for consumer affairs to the National Assembly for Wales and that The Commission on Devolution in Wales should consider this matter when it reviews the powers of the National Assembly for Wales

Representation of consumer interests in Wales

Representation of consumer interests in Wales PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Welsh Affairs Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215040268
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 60

Get Book Here

Book Description
Consumer advocacy plays an important part in the Welsh economy. Organisations including Consumer Focus Wales and Citizens Advice represent consumers' interests in their dealings with businesses, industry regulators and the UK and Welsh Governments. A significant aspect of their work is to ensure that consumers receive a fair deal in their daily lives. Advocacy is particularly important to those termed the most vulnerable in Welsh society. The Government announced its plans in October 2010 to abolish Consumer Focus Wales and to transfer some or all of its functions to Citizens Advice Cymru. The final decision will be taken once Ministers have considered the findings of the public consultation. But this delay has caused on going uncertainty and the Committee calls on the Government to publish without delay its detailed plans. MPs are not wholly persuaded by the Government's reasons for abolishing Consumer Focus Wales, but recognise that given the current financial situation there is a strong case for examining whether consumer interests are represented in the most efficient and cost-effective way. However, the Government should provide guarantees that the best features of Consumer Focus Wales are protected in any successor body, including: statutory independence from interference by ministers or its parent organization; a "Welsh focus" and the present level of funding. As consumer matters fall increasingly under the responsibility of the National Assembly for Wales, the committee calls for a review, on whether to devolve responsibility for consumer affairs to the National Assembly for Wales and that The Commission on Devolution in Wales should consider this matter when it reviews the powers of the National Assembly for Wales

Protecting consumers - the system for enforcing consumer law

Protecting consumers - the system for enforcing consumer law PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215038548
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 56

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Book Description
The Commons Public Accounts Committee publishes its 54th report of Session 2010-12, on the basis of evidence from consumer groups, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Office of Fair Trading, and the Trading Standards Institute, examining the current arrangements for the enforcement of consumer law, and the proposed changes to the regime. Individual consumers lose around £6.6 billion every year because of the malpractices of traders. At least £4.8 billion is lost through malpractices which occur at a regional or national level, such as mass market scams, counterfeiting, and unscrupulous traders who operate over large geographical areas. The Department has overall responsibility for policy on consumer protection. However, the majority of enforcement work, from weights and measures testing to the prosecution of rogue traders, is carried out by local authority Trading Standards Services, each with jurisdiction in only its own local area. The Committee states, that the Department has limited understanding of the true cost of protecting consumers or of the success of existing interventions. There is no clear and complete information on how much enforcement activity actually costs. The approach to enforcing consumer protection has not kept pace with the changing nature of the problems it is intended to tackle, such as online shopping. Any changes the Department makes must deliver a system fit for the modern era. Responsibility for tackling regional and national instances of malpractice or rogue trading must be clearly designated.

Inward investment in Wales

Inward investment in Wales PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Welsh Affairs Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215041845
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 64

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Book Description
In this report the Welsh Affairs Committee says that investment opportunities have been missed by the lack of a dedicated trade promotion agency. The abolition of the Welsh Development Agency (WDA) has reduced Wales's visibility in the global market place. Nearly five years on, the WDA remains one of the most recognisable of all Welsh brands. The Welsh Government must urgently consider how it can be used to promote more clearly Wales's global identity. The Committee argues for the establishment of a dedicated trade promotion agency, either sitting within the Welsh Government or as a private sector vehicle. Such a body should have a mix of skills with an emphasis on private sector experience. Wales does not have sufficient resources to work alone in attracting inward investment nor the advantages that UK Trade & Investment, the UK Government department with lead responsibility for trade and investment, has in terms of resources and networks. The Welsh Government must engage with politicians in the UK Government to maximise opportunities to attract inward investment to Wales and so improve the long-term prospects of the Welsh economy. The UK Government and the Welsh Government must work together effectively, and work with education providers and industry, for the improvement of the Welsh economy and the Welsh people.

Capital Cardiff 1975-2020

Capital Cardiff 1975-2020 PDF Author: Alan Hooper
Publisher: University of Wales Press
ISBN: 0708320635
Category : Cardiff (Wales)
Languages : en
Pages : 834

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Book Description
Examining how the city of Cardiff has managed to transform itself in recent years, this book analyses the way in which its local governments have promoted an economic, social, cultural, physical and environmental transformation through a wide range of policy initiatives and partnerships with governments, agencies and enterprises.

Ofwat price review 2009

Ofwat price review 2009 PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215540409
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Book Description
A report in which the Committee calls on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to review Ofwat's entire remit so that the regulatory regime will keep pace with the changes set to follow from greater competition and the challenge posed by scarcer water resources.

The Municipal Year Book and Public Services Directory

The Municipal Year Book and Public Services Directory PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Municipal government
Languages : en
Pages : 1014

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Book Description


Consumer Participation in Infrastructure Regulation

Consumer Participation in Infrastructure Regulation PDF Author: Elisa Muzzini
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 0821363816
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 64

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Book Description
Consumer Participation in Infrastructure Regulation draws on results of a survey questionnaire conducted among 45 infrastructure regulators in the East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region. It finds that EAP regulators have successfully begun to involve consumers in the regulatory process: consumer representation is a well-established practice in the region; and regulators draw on standard mechanisms to inform consumers, resolve consumer complaints, and solicit consumer input. However, regulators must take further actions to firmly move up the ?ladder of consumer engagement,? from merely providing in.

Growing Wales' Civil Society

Growing Wales' Civil Society PDF Author: John Osmond
Publisher: Institute of Welsh Affairs
ISBN: 1904773583
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 82

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Book Description
This book reports a Welsh debate around the key findings of the Carnegie Trusts' Commission of an Inquiry into the Future of Civil Society in the UK and Ireland, published in March 2010. The aim was to ask how the Carnegie findings relate to the emergence of Welsh civil society following a decade of devolution.

UK economic regulators

UK economic regulators PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Lords: Select Committee on Regulators
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780104011652
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 648

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Book Description
UK economic Regulators : 1st report of session 2006-07, Vol. 2: Evidence

The Pastoral Review

The Pastoral Review PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Agriculture
Languages : en
Pages : 972

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Book Description