285/1 ATTENDANCE Ms Sheila McClelland. Dr Sinead Furey Ms Noyona Chundur Mr Sam Snodden Ms Lynne Crowther Dr Joan Martin Mr David Beattie

Transcription

1 TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTY SIXTH MEETING OF THE GENERAL CONSUMER COUNCIL FOR NORTHERN IRELAND HELD AT THE CONSUMER COUNCIL, SEATEM HOUSE, ALFRED STREET, BELFAST, BT2 8EN, ON TUESDAY 15 MAY /1 ATTENDANCE Ms Sheila McClelland Mr Mick McAteer Dr Sinead Furey Ms Noyona Chundur Mr Sam Snodden Ms Lynne Crowther Dr Joan Martin Mr David Beattie Chair Deputy Chair IN ATTENDANCE Mr John French Chief Executive (Except agenda item 286/11.2) Mrs Sinead Dynan Director of Regulated Industries (Except agenda item 286/11.2) Dr Catriona MacArthur Director of Consumer Insight, Empowerment and Protection (Except agenda item 286/11.2) Miss Paula McCann Head of Finance (Agenda items 286/ /9) Ms Maeve Holly Senior Insight Officer (Agenda items 286/10.1 and 286/10.2) Mr Andrew Reeves Insight Placement Student (Agenda items 286/10.1 and 286/10.2) Mr Michael Legg Senior Post Policy Officer (Agenda items 286/10.3) Ms Sarah Hunter Policy Admin Officer (Agenda items 286/10.3) Mrs Philippa McKeown Head of Consumer Empowerment and Brown Protection (Agenda items 286/ ) Mr Richard Williams Head of Energy (Agenda items 286/10.6) Mrs Fiona Lavery Personal Assistant (Except agenda item 286/11.2) 1

2 BY INVITATION Ms Jenny Pyper, Mrs Anne Marie Duffy Mr Matt Birch Utility Regulator 286/1 APOLOGIES Mrs Mary Woods Mr David Galloway 286/2 DECLARATION OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST The Chair advised Board Members that any conflict of interest relating to agenda items should be recorded at the beginning of Council meetings. Should a Board Member have a conflict of interest they should leave the meeting at that particular agenda item and the minutes would reflect this. She explained the Chair would have the ability to define a conflict of interest and requested Board Members compliance if this arose. Board Member, Lynne Crowther declared an interest in the following item. 286/3 PRESENTATION BY JENNY PYPER, UTILITY REGULATOR ON ISEM Ms Pyper joined the meeting at 10am. The Chair welcomed Jenny Pyper, Chief Executive Officer of The Utility Regulator to the meeting. Ms Pyper presented an update on the Integrated Single Electricity Market (ISEM), and explained its key features and aspects of the new market. After discussion, it was agreed that another representative from the Utility Regulator would meet with Board to detail ISEM modelling. 2

3 The Chair thanked Ms Pyper for her very informative presentation, and having answered Members questions, she left the meeting at 11.25am. Board Member, Lynne Crowther entered the meeting at this point too. The Chair declared an Open Meeting, and introductions were made to the two external attendees that joined the meeting, Ms Ann Marie Duffy, and Mr Matt Birch. 286/4 MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING The minutes of the two hundred and eighty fifth meeting, which had been circulated, were agreed as a true and correct record and were proposed by Lynne Crowther and seconded by Noyona Chundur. The Minutes were agreed and signed. 286/45 MATTERS ARISING There were no matters arising. 286/6 CHAIRPERSON S BUSINESS 286/6.1 Review of Brexit Negotiations 286/6.1.1 The Chief Executive informed Board Members that he would be convening a meeting to discuss future partnerships with the NI Retail Consortium. 286/6.1.2 The Chief Executive drew Board Members attention to the letter from the Rt Hon Chris Grayling MP, Secretary of State for Transport, which had been circulated for their information. 286/6.2 Any Other Chair s Business 286/6.2.1 The Chair informed Board Members that an invitation had been issued to Board for a tour of the premises of Belfast City Airport. 3

4 After discussion, it was agreed that this would be arranged. 286/6.2.2 Board Members expressed their concern about the reported long delays experienced by travellers recently at the Belfast International Airport. The Director of Regulated Industries confirmed that a letter had been sent to, and had been acknowledged by, Belfast International Airport requesting answers to a number of queries. After discussion it was agreed to enquire about the throughput of individual security teams in Belfast International Airport. 286/7 CHIEF EXECUTIVE S BUSINESS 286/7.1 The Chief Executive s Report The Director of Consumer Insight, Empowerment and Protection briefed Board Members on issues surrounding Communications, Consumer Insight, and Consumer Empowerment and Protection. The Director of Regulated Industries briefed Board Members on issues surrounding Energy, Postal Services, Transport, Water and Sewerage and GDPR. In particular, she highlighted an issue that had arisen with an energy supplier, and confirmed that she would inform Board Members of further updates. She also discussed the Translink Web Fare increase with Board Members and stated that progress would be reported at the next Board Meeting. Board Members noted the Chief Executive s Report. David Beattie left the meeting at this point. 4

5 286/7.2 Any Other Chief Executive s Business There was no other Chief Executive s Business. 286/8 FINANCE AND GOVERNANCE 286/8.1 Annual Report and Accounts for The Head of Finance presented the Draft Annual Report and Accounts for to Board Members, and highlighted relevant issues throughout the report. Board Members approved the Draft Annual Report and Accounts for /8.2 Provisional Budget Outturn The Head of Finance provided an oral report to Board Members on the Provisional Budget Outturn. The Provisional Budget Outturn was noted. 286/9 PAPERS TO BE APPROVED BY BOARD AFTER AUDIT AND RISK ASSURANCE COMMITTEE APPROVAL The Chair of the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee, along with the Head of Finance, gave details of the papers that had been approved at the Audit and Risk Committee Meeting held on 24 April 2018 for Board Members information and approval. Board Members approved the Audit and Risk Committee Papers. 286/10 POLICY/STRATEGY 286/10.1 Consumer Insight Survey 2018 Key Findings The Senior Insight Officer presented the key findings of the Consumer Insight Survey 2018 to Board Members. 5

6 After discussion, Board Members requested that further clarity be sought on an understanding of the term Trust and also that the profile of those who fell under the 50 disposable income per month be explored. 286/10.2 NI vs RoI Differences in Consumer Landscape The Insight Placement Student presented the NI vs RoI Differences in Consumer Landscape to Board Members, and identified the key points within his slide presentation. Board Members congratulated the Insight Placement Student on his very good work, and it was agreed that a full copy of his report should be distributed to each Board Member for their information. 286/10.3 New Working Framework Between UK Consumer Advocacy Bodies and Post Office Limited The Senior Post Policy Officer stated that The Consumer Council and other Consumer Advocacy Bodies for postal services had negotiated a new framework to manage future changes to the Post Office Network with Post Office Ltd. He stated that the framework consisted of a Principles of Community Engagement document and a Memorandum of Understanding. The New Working Framework Between UK Consumer Advocacy Bodies and Post Office Limited was approved. 286/10.4 Ofcom Consultation on Recovering Postal Regulation and Consumer Advocacy Costs The Director of Regulated Industries informed Board Members that Ofcom had published a statement following its recent consultation on the recovery of postal regulation and consumer advocacy fees. She requested that they agree to the proposed key themes of the response. 6

7 After discussion, it was agreed to respond with a principles based approach to the OFCOM Consultation on recovering postal regulation and consumer advocacy costs. 286/10.5 Private Parking Fines The Head of Consumer Empowerment and Protection reminded Board Members that The Consumer Council had been acting on behalf of NI consumers to appeal unfair private parking tickets, and stated that she sought Board s guidance as to the next steps to be taken. Mick McAteer left the meeting at 1.20pm. After discussion it was agreed that The Consumer Council should meet with the CMA and the British Parking Association to discuss private parking fines, and that Board Members should be kept abreast of the situation. 286/10.6 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Advice NI and The Consumer Council The Head of Consumer Empowerment and Protection presented the MoU between Advice NI and The Consumer Council to Board Members for approval. She stated that the MoU would help facilitate handovers between the two organisations. The Memorandum of Understanding between Advice NI and The Consumer Council was approved. 286/10.7 Memorandum of Understanding between The Consumer Council and National Energy Action. The Head of Energy presented the MoU between The Consumer Council and National Energy Action to Board Members for approval. He stated that the MoU would facilitate partnership working between the two organisations on energy issues. 7

8 The Memorandum of Understanding between The Consumer Council and National Energy Action was approved. 286/10.8 Consumer Journey Mapping The Head of Consumer Empowerment and Protection stated that following the Customer Service Excellence accreditation in May 2017, The Consumer Council was now part of a rolling programme of assessment to maintain and build on success, and this would be done by carrying out Customer Journey Mapping. A full report was circulated to Board Members which responds to the key learning points and proposed next steps for The Consumer Council to build on. The Consumer Journey Mapping was noted. 286/11 ANY OTHER BUSINESS 286/11.1 IiP Presentation The Chief Executive gave a presentation to Board Members, that had already been shared with staff, which highlighted the list of the many achievements realised by The Consumer Council throughout These achievements included attaining the Silver IiP Award, Customer Service Excellence. Joan Martin left the meeting at 1.55pm. 286/11.2 Review of the Meeting Officers left the meeting at this point. The Board members discussed the agenda, papers and debate at the meeting and were very satisfied with the quality and substance of what senior management and teams were presenting and delivering to the consumer. Officers returned to the meeting at this point. 8

9 285/10 DATE OF NEXT MEETING The next meeting will be held on 26 June 2018 at 10am in Seatem House, Alfred Street, Belfast, BT2 8EN. There was no further business and the meeting closed at 2.35pm. Signed Date 9