Westminster Business Forum Keynote Seminar: Consumer rights and dispute resolution ‐ implementing the Consumer Rights Bill and the ADR Directive Timing: Morning, Thursday, 5th February 2015 Venue: Glaziers Hall, 9 Montague Close, London SE1 9DD Agenda subject to change 8.30 ‐ 9.00 Registration and coffee 9.00 ‐ 9.05 Chair’s opening remarks Yvonne Fovargue MP, Member, All‐Party Parliamentary Group on Citizens Advice 9.05 ‐ 9.30 Modernising the consumer landscape ‐ assessing the programme of reform Adam Scorer, Director of Consumer Futures, Citizens Advice Nisha Arora, Senior Director, Consumer, Competition and Markets Authority Questions and comments from the floor 9.30 ‐ 10.20 The legal framework for consumer rights ‐ advocacy, enforcement mechanisms and consumer protection What impact will measures proposed in the Consumer Rights Bill have on businesses, consumers and legal practitioners, and what more can be done to make the current legal framework more accessible and effective? What challenges do policymakers and enforcers face in further clarifying the framework for consumer rights, whilst also encouraging innovation and avoiding the escalation of implementation costs for businesses? To what extent do the proposed rights and remedies for digital content transactions ‐ such as purchases of software, streamed films, e‐books, online games and apps ‐ respond to the challenges posed by the rapidly growing digital content market? How effectively have the new Consumer Contracts Regulations (the UK implementation of the EU Directive on Consumer Rights) been taken forward and what are the early indications of their impact on buyers and traders, especially in relation to the provision of consumer information, cancellation rights, and hidden costs in contacts? Michael Weedon, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, British Independent Retailers Association Arnold Pindar, Chairman, National Consumer Federation and President, ANEC, the European Consumer Voice in Standardisation Alan Burgess, Managing Director, Masterframe John Davidson‐Kelly, Partner, Osborne Clarke Questions and comments from the floor 10.20 ‐ 10.40 Implementing the Consumer Rights Bill Charlotte DuBern, Deputy Director, Consumer Rights, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Questions and comments from the floor 10.40 ‐ 10.45 Chair’s closing remarks Yvonne Fovargue MP, Member, All‐Party Parliamentary Group on Citizens Advice 10.45 ‐ 11.15 Coffee 11.15 ‐ 11.20 Chair’s opening remarks Viscount Younger of Leckie, former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Intellectual Property, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills 11.20 ‐ 11.40 The EU Consumer ADR Directive ‐ applying the new requirements into UK law Peter Lovitt, Policy Adviser, Consumer and Competition Policy Directorate, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Questions and comments from the floor 11.40 ‐ 12.30 Alternative dispute resolution for consumers ‐ ADR schemes, business involvement and customer experience Stakeholder perspectives on reforming the UK landscape for consumer dispute resolution outside of court, and next steps for implementing the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Directive and the Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) Regulation. To what extent do current provisions for consumer ADR in the UK fulfil obligations set out in the Directive ‐ particularly its proposal to make ADR available for all consumer disputes? How can the various operating models of the current consumer complaints landscape ‐ including ombudsman, trade associations and in‐house schemes ‐ be further simplified and restructured? What is the potential of a residual ADR scheme ‐ that would operate alongside existing providers ‐ to effectively solve disputes between businesses and consumers, and what more can be done to encourage businesses to make use of such a scheme? What are the potential consequences for traders if they choose not to refer customers to residual bodies? How will an EU‐wide dispute resolution platform (ODR platform) work in practice and what are the challenges for solving domestic and cross‐border e‐commerce disputes, whilst maintaining consumer confidence and low costs for business? Lewis Shand Smith, Chief Ombudsman, Ombudsman Services and Chair, Executive Committee, Ombudsman Association Graham Ross, Head of European Advisory Board, Modria and Member, ODR Advisory Group, Civil Justice Council Gina Shim, Head of Client Relations, Consumer Services, Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution Lynda Clayton, Sales and Service Director, ScottishPower Chris Holland, Member for England, Communications Consumer Panel and Chairman, Postal Redress Scheme (POSTRS) Questions and comments from the floor 12.30 ‐ 12.55 Consumer protection cooperation ‐ a European perspective Despina Spanou, Director for Consumer Affairs, DG Justice and Consumers, European Commission Questions and comments from the floor 12.55 ‐ 13.00 Chair’s and Westminster Business Forum closing remarks Viscount Younger of Leckie, former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Intellectual Property, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Joana Kamenova, Senior Researcher, Westminster Business Forum