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Consumer Voice Background

In July 2004, the joint DTI/HMT Economic Regulation Team published a report entitled 'Consumer Representation in the Regulated Industries'. The report contained recommendations to strengthen and streamline the current system of consumer representation and redress across the utility sectors by consolidating the existing consumer bodies.

The initial recommendations were consulted on in the DTI document, ‘Extending Competitive Markets: Empowered Consumers, Successful Business’ (published in July 2004). 

A commitment to bring forward proposals to strengthen and streamline consumer advocacy was made in the Labour manifesto in May 2005, and reflected in the DTI Consumer Strategy, published in June 2005.

DTI’s formal consultation on consumer representation and redress was held in 2006.

The Government response to the consultation and the full Regulatory Impact Assessment were published in October 2006 (available here).

A further consultation was held in 2007 on proposals for the regulated providers of gas, electricity and postal services to belong to redress schemes. The Government response to the consultation was published in December 2007 (available here).