Head of consumer body warns against more cuts

Advocate Rose Colley, whose tenure as chairman of the Jersey Consumer Council ends early next year, became the head of the organisation in 2011.

At that time she said the council needed to move away from being perceived as a clinical watchdog to being seen as an educator for consumers and businesses in the Island.

After six years in the job she believes that the body has indeed widened its appeal. She said: ‘I felt the council had a fairly negative image in the eyes of a number of stakeholders, politicians and even some members of the public. It was seen as only being fixated on things like VAT and GST.

‘I felt there was a wider remit of consumer education and information that could broaden the scope of what the council did. I wanted to include more education to highlight areas where we felt the consumer was being short-changed.’

Advocate Colley will leave the council in the new year, as it is written into the organisation’s constitution that the chairman cannot hold the position for more than six years. A recruitment process is now under way to find her replacement.

She added: ‘There have been all sorts of Jersey-specific [consumer] issues we have dealt with. There is always a Jersey spin on UK [consumer] issues, as Jersey’s consumer legislation is not as advanced.

‘We have been involved in issues from health to transport, education and also things like charges you have to pay to your letting agent if you’re renting.

‘We have done a huge amount of work. I think people don’t realise the scope of the work we have done over the years.’

One project that the council worked on, which focused on the cost of primary care, resulted in some GPs changing their fee structures and, in some cases, not charging for young children’s consultations.

‘That was the first big consumer survey we did. I have to stress we had more budget back then, which has been dictated by the States,’ she said. ‘We decided to carry out an Islandwide survey and got 6,760 replies. This was a huge project followed by a series of meetings with interested consumers, GPs and dentists, to try to get a feel for what was happening at the time.’

It is large projects such as this that Advocate Colley says will be the hardest hit by a recent decision by the States to cut the council’s annual funding by £8,000, from £95,000 to £87,000, over the next two years. The budget includes the salary of the organisation’s one full-time employee.

Looking back on her time with the council, Advocate Colley said she felt proud of the work they had done. She said much work had gone into increasing not just the profile of the council generally, but also in making politicians and stakeholders take notice of its work.

Applications to replace Advocate Colley as chairman of the organisation are now open, with a deadline of 7 November. The holder of the post is expected to work ten to 15 hours per month and be flexible to react at short notice. They must have a special interest in the consumer issues and current affairs that affect the lives of Islanders.

Changes to the rules governing the Jersey Consumer Council made in 2011 mean that the chairman is paid £10,000 a year to do the job.

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