Other functions of the Council
Section 17: Reports by the Council
60.Section 17 enables the Council to prepare and publish reports on any matter within the scope of its functions.
Section 18: Secretary of State’s power to require reports
61.Section 18 enables the Secretary of State to direct the Council to prepare a report in respect of any matter that relates to consumer matters. The Secretary of State may publish these reports.
Section 19: Advice, information and guidance
62.Section 19(1) enables the Council to issue advice or guidance to improve standards of service to consumers and promote best practice in relation to complaint handling, or on any other matters related to the interest of consumers.
63.Subsection (2) enables the Council to publish advice and information about consumer matters if it thinks publication will promote the interests of consumers.
Section 20: Duty to enter into co-operation arrangements
64.Section 20 requires the Council to enter into co-operation arrangements with various bodies (“designated bodies”). The designated bodies are the OFT, the Financial Services Consumer Panel, the OFCOM Consumer Panel and any other person designated by the Secretary of State by order. Subsection (3) sets out the matters which such arrangements should deal with. These agreements are intended to enable the Council and the designated regulators to work together in exercising their functions in relation to the provision of advice or information to consumers in areas where these functions overlap.
65.Subsections (4) to (6) provide that memoranda setting out each co-operation arrangement and any revisions must be sent to the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State must lay any memoranda detailing the cooperation arrangement received by him before Parliament (subsection (7)).
66.In addition to these cooperation arrangements, sections 39 and 40 and Schedule 1 paragraph 1(4) make provision about cross-appointments between the Council and the OFCOM Consumer Panel and the Financial Services Consumer Panel. This is also to ensure that the Panels and the Council work closely together.
Section 21: Power to co-operate and give assistance
67.Section 21 allows the Council to co-operate with or give assistance to any person if it thinks that doing so would contribute towards carrying out its own functions.
Section 22: Voluntary activities
68.Section 22 enables the Council to undertake other activities in addition to the functions described above. In particular, it has the power to give advice or assistance to others, including research or other services, in respect of any matters in which the Council has skill, experience or expertise. It may charge for services provided under this section. This section is intended to enable the Council to undertake paid work or other work for other persons (for instance research projects).
69.The Council is also given the power to establish a company or, subject to the consent of the Secretary of State, to acquire an interest in one to exercise its functions under this section (subsections (4) and (5)). The Secretary of State must publish the reasons for any consent granted to the Council for this purpose.
Section 23: Supplementary powers etc
70.Section 23 makes provision for the Council to do whatever it sees fit, apart from borrowing money, in the interests of performing its functions. However, the Council may not acquire or dispose of interests in land without approval from the Secretary of State except under a transfer of property scheme provided for in section 35. Section 35 gives the Secretary of State the power, in winding up the Gas and Electricity and Postal Services Consumer Councils, the existing National Consumer Council and the Consumer Council for Water, to transfer their property to the Council or another person.
Section 24: Provision of information to the Council
71.Subsections (1) to (5) enable the Council to serve a notice on a person listed in subsection (3) requiring the person to provide it with information. The listed persons are the OFT, a “designated regulator”, any person who supplies goods or services in the course of business and any person or description of person specified by the Secretary of State. “Designated regulator” means the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority, the Postal Services Commission, the Water Services Regulation Authority and any other person prescribed by the Secretary of State (see subsection (9)). The Council may only ask for information that it needs for the purpose of exercising its functions (subsection (2)). In making a request for information, the Council must consider the desirability of minimising the costs or any other detriment the request might cause for the person on whom the notice is served (subsection (5)).
72.If the Council requests information from the OFT or a designated regulator and it fails to provide the information requested, the Council may require it to give notice of its reasons for failing to provide the information requested (subsection (6)). The Council may publish that notice.
Section 25: Enforcement by regulator of section 24 notice
73.Section 25 applies where a regulated provider in the electricity, gas, postal services or water sectors fails to comply with a notice served by the Council under section 24. The Council may refer the matter to a person prescribed by the Secretary of State, or to the sectoral regulator if no person has been prescribed by the Secretary of State (in both cases the “designated investigator”). The designated investigator must consider any representations made by the Council or by the regulated provider and must determine whether the provider was entitled to refuse to provide the information requested by the Council (subsection (4)). If the designated investigator determines that the provider was not entitled to refuse, then it must direct the provider to provide the information. Such directions are enforceable by the sectoral regulator (see subsections (7), (8) and Schedule 2).
Section 26: Enforcement by court of section 24 notice
74.Section 26 applies where a supplier of goods and services (or a person to whom section 26 applies by virtue of a provision made under section 24(7)(b)) refuses to comply with a notice under section 24 requiring information to be provided to the Council. The Council may apply to the court for an order requiring the person served with the notice to comply with it. This does not apply where the procedure in section 25 applies in relation to the notice.
Section 27: Provision of information by the Council
75.Section 27 allows the OFT, a designated regulator (as defined by section 24(9)) or a person specified by the Secretary of State, to require information from the Council if the information is required for the purpose of exercising its functions. In doing so, they must consider the impact (including the cost) that complying with the requirement will have on the Council.
76.Subsections (6) and (7) mean that, if the Council fails to provide the information, it must give the person who requested the information a notice setting out the reasons for this failure, and the person requesting the information may publish the notice of reasons given by the Council.
Section 28: Exemptions from requirements to provide information
77.Section 28 enables the Secretary of State to prescribe exemptions from the requirements to provide information to the Council by virtue of section 24. The power to prescribe exemptions also applies to the Council’s duty under section 27 to provide information on request to the OFT, designated regulators, and persons specified by the Secretary of State by order.
78.Subsection (2) means that no person may be required under section 24 or 27, or under a court order under section 26, to provide any information or document which he could not be compelled to provide in legal proceedings. This is to ensure that the information gathering powers under the Act do not apply to information that is subject to legal professional privilege.
Section 29: Disclosure of information
79.Section 29(1) brings the Act within the general regime in Part 9 of the Enterprise Act 2002 (c. 40) (“the 2002 Act”) that protects information from improper disclosure and use. It does this by adding the Act to the list in Schedule 14 to the 2002 Act. The effect of this is that information which the Council obtains under the Act will be restricted, and it will be an offence to disclose information about the business of a company or the affairs of an individual unless Part 9 of the 2002 Act permits it.
80.Subsection (2) adds the Act to Schedule 15 to the 2002 Act. The effect of this is that information which is restricted under the 2002 Act and obtained under legislation other than the Act can be disclosed to the Council to help it carry out its functions under the Act.
81.Subsection (3) makes information obtained by the Council under powers in legislation relating to the gas, electricity and postal services sectors subject to the disclosure regime in the 2002 Act. Without these provisions, the information would be subject to the regime in the Utilities Act 2000 (c. 27) or the Postal Services Act 2000 (c.26).
82.Subsection (4) states that the 2002 Act restrictions do not apply when the Council makes information available or publishes it under specified powers in the Act, the Gas Act 1986 (c.44) and the Electricity Act 1989 (c.29). In these cases subsection (5) requires the Council to consult the individual or business affected first; and subsection (6) requires the Council in these cases also to have regard to the considerations in section 244 of the 2002 Act before disclosing or publishing it. These requirements do not apply to the Council publishing information about complaint handling under section 45 of the Act or publication of statistical information about the performance of gas and electricity suppliers.
