Scope of new consumer duty goes out to views

Which public bodies should be subject to the new duty to consider the impact of their policies on consumers is the subject of a new Scottish Government consultation.

The duty arises under the Consumer Scotland Act 2020. The Act creates a new body, Consumer Scotland, to represent the needs of consumers, but it will be a small organisation investigating the most serious areas of consumer detriment in Scotland.

To achieve more comprehensive change to how consumers are considered and integrated into policy and decision-making, the Act also requires public bodies to consider for themselves their impact on consumers.

The Act does not specify which public bodies will be covered by this new duty – these will be set out in delegated legislation. The consultation proposes categories including central and local government, public ombudsmen, public corporations, executive agencies, non-ministerial offices, non-departmental public bodies, and other public authorities with the ability to procure frontline public services.

Click here to access the consultation. The deadline for responses is 26 November 2021.