Watchdog publishes Consumer Duty guidance for Scottish water sector

Consumer Scotland has published final guidance on the Consumer Duty – a requirement coming into force in April under the Consumer Scotland Act 2020 – for all public bodies in Scotland to consider consumer impacts, including potential harms, when they make major decisions. This includes Scottish Water and regulators the Water Industry Commission for Scotland and the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, as well as Scottish ministers, all local authorities and many others.

The guidance makes a number of recommendations for public bodies including:

• Completing an impact assessment.

• Engaging with consumers throughout the process of strategic decision-making. 

• Considering how to reduce harm to consumers.

• Appointing a consumer duty champion to ensure meeting the duty is embedded in strategic decision-making.

Public bodies must publish information about the steps they have taken to comply with the duty. Consumer Scotland assistant director Jill Rosie said: “The consumer duty aims to put consumer interests at the heart of strategic decision-making across the public sector. Meeting the duty will not only improve outcomes for consumers, it will also provide value to the relevant public bodies and improve the services they provide. 

“Other benefits of meeting the duty include making it easier for the public to relate to policies and inspiring greater levels of trust and confidence over time.”