Policy and Government

We are pleased to respond to this Consumer Protection Programme call for evidence for the Utility Regulator. Our response gives examples of some of the best practice CAP has seen across Great Britain for the fair treatment of vulnerable customers, particularly within the elecrtic, gas and water industries. We look forward to seeing which priorities the Utility Regulator decides to take forward. To read our full response, please click below. 

CAP has released a new briefing paper, Unlocking a new start. The paper explores why insolvency alone does not always provide a new start for people in severe financial difficulty. With 130,000 people pursuing an insolvency solution each year, there needs to be more action to address the root causes of debt – in particular the amount of support available to help meeting rental costs. To read more click here. 

With a potential election looming, CAP has joined forces with Fair by Design, StepChange and a group of other think tanks and charities to back a set of manifesto asks to end the poverty premium. Fair by Design is a movement dedicated to ending the extra costs of being poor faced by ten million people in the UK. The recommendations span credit, energy, insurance and government debt collection. Read more here.

We are pleased to be able to respond to this important consultation from the FCA, which is detailed and thorough, with helpful case studies sharing good and bad practice. However, the main concern CAP has with this draft Guidance was its status as non-Handbook guidance. If universally adopted and implemented well, the recommendations within the Guidance would see a substantial improvement on the treatment of vulnerable customers.

Over the past couple of weeks our team has been at the Labour and Conservative party conferences. Between them they’ve represented CAP at 24 meetings and events, connecting with others working to tackle UK poverty. Rachel Gregory, CAP’s Social Policy Manager said:

‘While it’s been an interesting and turbulent time politically, there are lots of vital issues that we cannot take our sights off. We’ve attended events about food poverty, financial inclusion, bailiff regulation, Universal Credit and loneliness to name a few. My favourite quote from this week came from Alison Garnham, CEO of the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), who said, "Poverty is policy responsive, if we do the right things it goes down". That’s why, while the conferences are over for another year, we will continue to speak out to see the changes needed.’