Consumer Duty Compliance Statement: Programme for Government 2024 - 2025

Consumer Duty Compliance Statement: Programme for Government 2024 - 2025

This statement sets out the steps taken by the Scottish Ministers to comply with the consumer duty imposed under section 21 of the Consumer Scotland Act 2020 (“the 2020 Act”) when preparing the Programme for Government 2024-25.

Application of the Consumer Duty

Under section 21 of the 2020 Act, a relevant public authority must, when making decisions of a strategic nature about how to exercise its functions, have regard to—

(a) the impact of those decisions on consumers in Scotland, and

(b) the desirability of reducing harm to consumers in Scotland.

This duty is referred to in this document as the Consumer Duty.

The Scottish Ministers are a relevant public authority under the Consumer Scotland Act 2020 (Relevant Public Authorities) Regulations 2024. This means that the Scottish Government must meet the following requirements of the 2020 Act:

• When making decisions of a strategic nature, have regard to the impact those decisions have on consumers in Scotland
• When making decisions of a strategic nature, have regard to the desirability of reducing harm to consumers in Scotland
• Publish information about the steps taken to meet the duty
• Have regard to the Consumer Scotland guidance on how to meet the consumer duty

The Consumer Duty ensures consumers are at the heart of all strategic decisions within the Scottish Government.

In this context “consumer” includes individuals and small businesses who buy, use or receive goods and/or services which are supplied in the course of a business, and “business” includes the activities of any government department, local or public authority or other public body. Accordingly, the Scottish Government must have regard to the impact on users of public services, as well as consumers more generally, when making decisions of a strategic nature.

As a document setting out the actions the Scottish Government will take in the coming year and beyond, the Programme for Government (PfG) collectively constitutes a ‘strategic decision,’ even if each of the individual policies contained within it may not. The approach taken to meet the duty considers the overall potential impact of portfolio areas and the cumulative expected impact of the PfG.

The Scottish Government has complied with the Consumer Duty when deciding on the package of measures that now form the PfG. The following steps have been taken.