Committee for Consumers in Vulnerable Circumstances
Minutes of meeting, Meeting 7, 12 March 2025, 10.00am – St Vincent Plaza, Glasgow
Attendees:
Angela Morgan, Chair (Board, Consumer Scotland)
Douglas White (Director of Policy and Advocacy, Consumer Scotland)
Aaliya Seyal (Chief Executive Officer, Legal Services Agency)
Kirsten Urquhart (Young Scot)
Artemis Pana (Scottish Rural Action) - joined remotely
Chris Birt (Joseph Rowntree Foundation) joined remotely
Karen Nailen (Chief Executive, West Lothian Citizens Advice Bureau) joined remotely
Jane Williams (Head of Research, Consumer Scotland)
Tracey Reilly (Head of Consumer Markets, Consumer Scotland)
Alistair Hill (Head of Energy Networks, Consumer Scotland)
David Jackson (Policy and Advocacy Officer, Consumer Scotland)
Catriona Kirk (Operations Team, Consumer Scotland – Minutes)
Apologies:
Kendal Morris (SP Energy Networks)
John McKendrick (Glasgow Caledonian University)
Michael O’Brien (Consumer Scotland)
Twimukye Macline Mushaka (Representing herself)
Agenda Item 1: Arrival
Agenda Item 2: Welcome and Introductions
1. The Chair welcomed members to the seventh meeting of the Advisory Committee on Consumers in Vulnerable Circumstances.
2. Apologies were noted and those who were unable to attend had been invited to provide any feedback on papers via email.
3. The minutes of the previous Committee meeting held on 4th December 2024 were approved.
4. The Chair noted that the New Terms of Reference had been signed off by Consumer Scotland’s (CS) Executive Team and Board. It was noted that CS Standing Orders would be formally changed to reflect amendments to the Terms of Reference. An action was taken to circulate this document with members once finalised.
Agenda Item 3: Updates Log
5. David Jackson provided an overview of updates relevant to previous Committee discussions since the last meeting held on the 4th December 2024.
6. The update was included as a paper. Substantive items were reviewed as below:
- Work Programme 2025-2026: Members of the Committee were thanked for their input to the drafting and consultation stage. A substantive update would be provided under Agenda Item 4
- Statement on Consumers in Vulnerable Circumstances: The principles are being actively used and will also be presented at a CS all staff day to illustrate to staff how we make commitments to the principles
- Disabled consumers in rural areas research: The fieldwork was completed earlier in the year and work is now underway with the research partner to produce a report. Following this, CS are likely to produce a follow-up report which members would be invited to feedback on.
- Postal Service Universal Service Obligation: CS are continuing to engage with key stakeholders to understand the impact this may have on Consumers in Vulnerable Circumstances
- Consumer Duty: The final guidance was published in April. The Chair added that it would be useful for members to flag examples where they see the Consumer Duty being implemented.
Agenda Item 4: Overview of 2025-2026 Work Programme
7. Douglas White led on the Work Programme 2025-2026 update.
8. A brief background was provided on the progress of the 2025-2026 Work Programme since the last meeting in December 2024. The discussion can be summarised as below:
- The Work Programme drafting is now complete
- The consultation, which was shared with Committee members, was open over January and February. Douglas noted that there were a range of positive responses to the consultation and some minor adjustments have been made following input from stakeholders
- The final draft of the Work Programme was approved by the Board on the 11th March. Next steps will include publishing the final draft on the website and laying with the Scottish Parliament
- The Work Programme focuses on key challenges for consumers in Scotland, including:
- Embedded higher prices
- Debt and arrears legacy
- Adapting to digital markets and evolving risks
- Cost and complexity of NZ transition
- Issues of detriment and customer service
- Particular challenges for consumers in vulnerable circumstances
- Members were asked to consider any areas they would find useful to have a more in-depth discussion about at future meetings, and this would be built into the agenda planning
9. An in-depth summary of priority workstreams in 2025-2026 was presented to the Committee (Fair and Affordable Markets; Investing for the Future; Trustworthy, High Quality Services and Consumers at the Heart of Scotland’s Society), with Douglas highlighting key workstreams of significance with the Committee.
10. The Committee were then invited to provide any feedback or ask any questions in relation to the Work Programme 2025-2026. A variety of topics were discussed in detail, including analysis of the consultation responses, Data Sharing Agreements, Investigations topics and research procurement. An action was taken to share the Investigations Prioritisation Criteria document.
Agenda Item 5: Consumer Scotland’s Heat Networks Role
11. The Chair welcomed Alistair Hill, Head of Heat Networks at Consumer Scotland, to the meeting.
12. As of 1st April 2025, Consumer Scotland will become the statutory advocate for heat network consumers in Scotland. A Heat Networks team was established in September 2024, and since then they have focussed on research into consumer issues and experience of heat networks in Scotland, and are using this research as evidence to advocate for better consumer outcomes.
13. Key points from the presentation are outlined below:
- CS has worked with advice bodies in Scotland to build heat network support into existing energy advice services. Consumers in vulnerable circumstances will have access to additional support services
- Data is scarce across the sector. However, CS are conducting analysis on available data to better understand the issues facing consumers in order to support advocacy and engagement work
- CS aim to monitor the performance of the heat network market in Scotland, identifying and addressing industry wide issues
14. The Committee discussed aspects of the presentation in more detail, noting their interest in the subject matter and thanking Alistair for attending the meeting. A number of members agreed to contact Alistair separately for further discussions.
Agenda Item 6: Flash Updates
15. Members were invited to share any areas of work they are aware of, or involved in, that would be of interest to the group.
16. Kirsten Urquhart (Young Scot) provided updates on:
- A recent meeting with the Smart and Integrated Ticketing Board
- YoungScot annual survey with young people launching soon with a webinar on the 2nd April discussing the top issues for young people in Scotland. An action was taken for links to the survey and webinar to be circulated with members
- Misinformation as a public health issue – being referred to by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as an ‘infodemic’
17. The Chair thanked Kirsten for her updates and, with no further comments, the discussion was closed.
Agenda Item 7: Discussion of Net Zero Principles
18. Tracey Reilly led on Net Zero Principles discussion.
19. The Consumer Scotland Act 2020 outlines CS must promote sustainable consumption and other environmentally sustainable practices by current, and future, consumers in Scotland.
20. A recap of the key findings from the Consumer perceptions of and engagement with net zero paper included:
- 76% of survey respondents are either ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ concerned about climate change
- Not a lot of consumers know what they need to do to help Scotland reach net zero targets
- Consumer behaviour is driven by cost and convenience
21. Following on from the findings above, CS is developing a framework for addressing consumer issues arising from the transition to net zero. A consumer focussed approach will focus on:
- Cost
- Convenience
- Clarity
- Confidence
22. In addition to ‘the 4 Cs’ (outlined above), CS have been developing a checklist to ensure consumer are considered in policymaking.
23. The Committee were invited to ask questions which led to a detailed discussion on some aspects of the presentation. Following the discussion, Douglas noted that it had been extremely valuable to get the members input on the Net Zero Principles. An action was taken for NZ Principles to be discussed at a future CS Board meeting.
Agenda Item 8: Consumer Scotland Roundup
24. David Jackson summarised the Roundup Paper (circulated with members prior to the meeting) for the Committee on aspects of Consumer Scotland’s recent work which focus on vulnerability issues across multiple workstreams. Some topics discussed included net zero, housing, energy, water, post and legal issues.
25. The Chair raised the progress made on the Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) work, noting that it was an example of where CS have had a positive impact for consumers in vulnerable circumstances.
Agenda Item 9: AOB/Next Steps
26. The Chair thanked everyone for their input and noted a formal thanks to Chris Birt as this was his final meeting with the CCVC.
27. With no other business, the meeting was closed.
Confirmed Dates for Upcoming Meetings
Thursday 12th June 2025– 10.00 – 13.00
Thursday 11th September 2025 – 10.00 – 13.00