CONSUMER SCOTLAND
GOVERNANCE BOARD MEETING
Tuesday 23rd September
12:30 – 15:00
Virtual, via Microsoft Teams
Minute
Board Members present:
David Wilson, Chair (DW)
Nick Martin, Member (NM)
Angela Morgan, Member (AM)
James Walker, Member (JW)
Also in attendance:
Sam Ghibaldan, Chief Executive
David Eiser, Director of Research, Analysis and Investigations
Douglas White, Director of Policy and Advocacy
Jill Rosie, Assistant Director of Operations and Partnerships
Gemma Black, Secretariat
Apologies:
Sue Bomphray, Director of Operations and Partnerships
Welcome and Declaration of Interest
1. The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked Nick Martin for the ARC meeting this morning.
2. No conflicts of interest were declared for the meeting.
Actions
3. The minutes from the previous meeting, held on 19th August, were approved.
4. For the Action Tracker, the Board noted:
- Item 213: Framework agreement is waiting for SG to confirm it meets with their agreement. The Chief Executive will contact SG to seek finalisation of the agreement.
- Item 219: A snapshot on the effectiveness of Grant Funding to be brought to the Board before the end of the year.
- Item 242: Oracle Costs are recorded as “Complete” as the costs for 2026-27 have been confirmed. A new action will be opened to record that we are seeking to understand from SG the longer-term annual cost of Oracle.
- It was agreed that when actions are minuted that the minute date is noted on the tracker. Additionally, the Board should agree that an action has been completed, and the minutes should reflect this, referencing the item number.
5. The minutes from the previous Audit and Risk Committee (ARC), held on 17th June, were noted.
Key issues update and general discussion
CEO Update
6. The Chief Executive introduced his quarterly report.
7. The procurement for the Independent Review is out to tender.
8. The Chief Executive updated the Board on developments impacting Consumer Scotland’s role in relation to the Strategic Review of Water Charges:
- In Scottish Water’s (SW) draft business plan assumed that charges will increase by CPI + 4% every year in the period 2027 - 2033. Our deliberative research has reflected this, and also looked at other charging scenarios considered by Scottish Water of CPI + 3% and CPI + 5%.
- WICS has submitted their consultation response to the Draft Business Plan and said SW needs to justify any increase over CPI + 2%, which was the modelled assumption for ongoing charge increases at the time of the last Determination of Charges.
- Previous Consumer Scotland analysis led to our recommendations that the SG increase affordability support for those experiencing water poverty. We would be publishing updated analysis this Autumn. It should be noted that the cost of affordability support will need to be accommodated from the revenue received by SW.
- That the combination of these factors pose practical risks in relation to the deliberative research Consumer Scotland is conducting in order to determine whether Determination of Charges commands’ consumer support. Consumer Scotland is engaging with stakeholders to mitigate those risks. It is possible that Consumer Scotland (CS) may be need to extend or carry out additional deliberative research as part of the MOU we have agreed. The Chair and Chief Executive are meeting their counterparts in WICS soon and will discuss these issues.
- In discussion it was noted that:
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- There is a balance to be struck between the interests of current and future consumers in the SRC process. Costs of long-term investment in essential infrastructure need to be balanced over 20 - 25 years. Current consumers are willing to take a degree of responsibility for covering those costs but it needs to be affordable across the customer base and lower income households need to be supported.
- CS was also looking at issues of water debt as part of its current work programme.
- The Board noted their acknowledgement regarding the challenges surrounding procurement and logistics, and that the Chair and Chief Executive have a scheduled meeting with WICS in the coming weeks.
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9. In relation to Appendix C of the CEO Report (the Review of Contracts), it was noted:
- Board members highlighted that procurement and payroll costs appear high, and an action was taken to report back to the Board on how these figures are calculated.
- The Chair noted that we are facing increasing corporate service costs for a number of shared services either taken from SG or elsewhere in the public sector and that this is relevant to budget discussions.
10. Board members praised the new sections on the website regarding partnerships.
- An action was taken to add data sharing agreements and relevant work plans of those we grant fund to the website.
Management Accounts
11. Following discussion at the ARC this morning, the Board noted formal thanks to the Finance team with ensuring a clean Audit and more generally with the successful mid-year move to Oracle.
Budget Planning Update
12. The Chief Executive reported back to the Board on the recent meeting with SG. The Board discussed the issues arising from that, including the reality that Consumer Scotland was set up during an era of lean budgeting and was operating efficiently with very little flexibility in its budget. The Board noted that the Chief Executive would write to SG formally in mid-October with our core funding request for 2026-27. The Board agreed to discuss budgets and risks regarding the Medium-Long Term Financial Plan in late October/early November.
Annual Report and Accounts
13. The Chair confirmed that the process issues were covered this morning in the ARC.
14. The Assistant Director of Operations and Partnerships confirmed that a non-financial amendment can and would be made to the text relating to Consumers in Vulnerable Circumstances Committee.
15. On the recommendation of the ARC, the board agreed to approve the annual report and accounts in principle, subject to no material changes being made by the auditors. The Chair of the board, the Chair of the ARC, the Chief Executive and the Director of Operations and Partnerships will determine if a change is minor or substantive. All changes will be communicated to the board electronically for consideration and for final sign-off prior to the Accountable Officer signing the accounts. In the event it is the board's preference to convene an extraordinary meeting to approve the accounts then this will be arranged.
16. The Board noted their thanks to all the team involved in producing Consumer Scotland’s third annual report and accounts.
Investigations Update
17. The Chair welcomed the Head of Investigations to the meeting with thanks for a comprehensive and detailed paper.
18. The Head of Investigations presented to the paper and noted the following:
- The used car sector is the source of significant volumes of complaints and consumer harm, second only to public transport sector UK-wide.
- The focus will be on consumer experience within the industry across a number of metrics, using our own research, ADS statistics, case studies and engagement with trade and industry associations which are considered to be relevant within the market. It will cover cars of all ages and include the major used car retailers.
- The timeline for publication will be post-election.
19. The Board thanked the Head of Investigations for the paper and officially approved this investigation for launch.
Consumer Welfare Report
20. The Director of Research, Analysis and Investigations presented on the approach to developing the report, noting that Consumer Scotland are obliged by the Consumer Scotland Act to report on this shortly after the end of the 3-year reporting period.
- The report needs to inform, and be rigorous and engaging.
- This is not part of CS framework, but it is a broader statement around how consumer welfare is developing, and will include both quantitative indicators and evidence-based analysis and policy issues.
- The report will present a series of key indicators which will allow us to define evidence-based policy analysis decisions and highlight the different outcomes for different types of consumers.
- The aim is to deliver the Consumer Welfare survey by March 2026, the draft report by June 2026, and launch in late August or September 2026.
21. Board members thanked the Director of Research, Analysis and Investigations for the paper and welcomed its content.
- Comments were noted regarding the challenges surrounding cross-cutting themes. There was an acknowledgment that approaching this market by market would be challenging and that the report is unlikely to flag new areas of work.
- The Chair noted that this report will look at things from the point of view of the consumer, and that there should be an understating of how this aligns with the National Performance Framework.
22. The Board invited further consideration of whether to publish a summary of our approach to structuring the report ahead of full publication. An action was noted for this.
23. The Board strongly endorsed the paper and direction of travel, particularly in terms of engagement with the next Parliament.
Committee for Consumers in Vulnerable Circumstances Update
24. AM provided an update.
25. After two years of operation the purpose of the review was to consider whether the Committee had been effective in working across its remit. It was noted that:
- Committee members were very complimentary about the process and agreed that the purpose is being achieved. They passed their thanks to the Consumer Scotland team for their support and engagement.
- Overall there is a sense of assurance which was welcoming to hear.
- The Chair will to be invited to join a future Committee meeting.
26. The Chair welcomed the reassuring report, and the knowledge that the Committee is functioning well.
27. An action was noted to have a comprehensive update at the next Board meeting, with an option to invite CCVC members along to the discussion.
AOB
28. Following discussion at the ARC regarding the complexity surrounding the definition of lease costs, the Board sought reassurance in terms of how we understand that in terms of the Accommodation discussions. The Chief Executive noted that we have ongoing conversations regarding SVP and Thistle House regarding our various options, and that a fuller update will be provided at November Board.
29. There being no other business, the meeting closed.