Consultations CTSI HaS ITS SaY Some of the institutes contributions to government policy debate Citizens Advice 2017 work plan Citizens Advice 2017 work plan Citizens advice, march 2017 CTSI agrees with the direction that Citizens Advice (CA) is taking, looks forward to continuing a close working relationship, welcomes the research focus on consumer issues, and hopes for coordination with ongoing work to deliver the best possible consumer outcomes. Anoutline of plans covering CAs role with the consumer helpline would also be helpful. As much of the plan looks at quantifying issues and devising solutions to benefit consumers, CTSI hopes these measures also reflect the challenges faced by enforcement bodies. CTSI has been vocal about its concerns over the smart meter roll-out and welcomes this detailed report on licence conditions, estimated bills and the limitations of some meter types. It looks forward to seeing the monitoring-tool methodology and resulting publicity. In terms of mail, CTSI is aware of several projects that may complement the plans of Citizens Advice to convene a task force looking at postal scamming. Of particular interest may be: the Joint Fraud Taskforce, a Home Office group that is looking at several aspects of how this criminality impacts on consumers; the National Trading Standards Scams Teams work with Royal Mail to identify potential scam victims; and CTSIs collaboration with the University of Bournemouth to research the shared outcomes between trading standards and adult social care, and potential future research looking at the impact of scams on vulnerable consumers. CTSI believes CAs continued use of data is welcome, and will be useful in directing policy-makers towards the most damaging or growing issues of the day. After last years project to produce a consumer-detriment figure, we welcome the plans to look at demographics within this information. However, one concern is that the consumer advice helpline is not included in this report. The helpline is the gateway for consumers to pass issues on to local enforcement giving officers real-time intelligence so it would be useful if CA could produce some form of plan for this crucial role. CTSI campaigns and policy executive: Ben Richards For more details and to contribute to consultations such as these, visit www.tradingstandards.uk Credits Images: iStock.com/Wavebreakmedia To share this page, in the toolbar click on You might also like CTSI has its say March 2017