Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008

My Lords, I join everyone else in welcoming my noble friend to the Front Bench. He looks a lot younger to me after an hour of this debate. Following in the steps of the noble Baroness, I need to declare my chairmanship of both the existing and new National Consumer Council. I welcome these regulations. While on behalf of consumers and others I have had doubts about some aspects of the better regulation agenda—some of which seem directed more at reducing the burden on business than on protecting consumers or the environment—in this case it has managed both to reduce the burden on business and to extend and simplify protection for consumers. That consists of two parts: first, the nature of the directive, in which the UK Government were very involved, has a principled-based objective—it is the kind of thing we like to see come out of Brussels—and, secondly, the transposition has removed a great deal of detailed regulation from the statute book. Consumers should benefit from this good example of better regulatory practice. I had two reservations. The one in relation to the effectiveness of the resourcing of the TSOs has been covered already by my noble friend Lord Borrie. My second point, however, is that this is all very well—it provides simplification for consumers and should give them more power and more ability to enforce their rights—but none of it is very good if they do not know about it. It must be incumbent on the Government to ensure that there is effective consumer education and information in this area. Some information is beginning to go to business and I understand that consumer education is coming, but it will have to be on a fairly wide basis. After all, a lot of people vaguely know about the Trade Descriptions Act, but I doubt whether there is one in a thousand consumers out there who knows about these regulations. We need to turn that round within a matter of months and I would welcome some assurance that the Minister’s department has this in hand. Otherwise I very much welcome these regulations.