Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007

Other functions of the Council

17Reports by the Council

(1)The Council may prepare a report in relation to any matter falling within the scope of its functions.

(2)The Council may publish any report prepared under this section.

18Secretary of State’s power to require reports

(1)The Secretary of State may direct the Council to prepare, and submit to the Secretary of State within a specified period, a report in respect of any matter specified in the direction which relates to consumer matters.

(2)The Secretary of State may publish any report submitted under this section.

19Advice, information and guidance

(1)The Council may issue advice or guidance to any person with a view to improving standards of service and promoting best practice in connection with the handling of complaints made by consumers or any other matter affecting the interests of consumers.

(2)The Council may publish advice or information about consumer matters if it appears to the Council that its publication would promote the interests of consumers.

(3)For this purpose “information about consumer matters” includes information about the views of consumers on consumer matters.

20Duty to enter into co-operation arrangements

(1)It is the duty of the Council and each designated body to enter into co-operation arrangements under this section.

(2)In this section—

• “co-operation arrangements” means arrangements made by the Council and a designated body with a view to securing co-operation between them, including—

  (a)

  the exchange of information between them,

  (b)

  the co-ordination of any activities they carry on in connection with their functions relating to the provision of advice or information to consumers, and

  (c)

  consistent treatment of matters which affect both of them;

• “designated body” means—

  (a)

  the Office of Fair Trading;

  (b)

  the Consumer Panel established by the Financial Services Authority under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (c. 8) (“the Financial Services Consumer Panel”);

  (c)

  the Consumer Panel established by the Office of Communications under the Communications Act 2003 (c. 21) (“the OFCOM Consumer Panel”);

  (d)

  a person designated by the Secretary of State by order for the purposes of this section.

(3)The co-operation arrangements must set out—

(a)in the case of the Financial Services Consumer Panel, the procedure for consulting and making nominations for the purposes of paragraph 1(4)(a) of Schedule 1 to this Act and section 10(5A) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (c. 8);

(b)in the case of the OFCOM Consumer Panel, the procedure for consulting and making nominations for the purposes of paragraph 1(4)(b) of Schedule 1 to this Act and section 17(4A) of the Communications Act 2003.

(4)As soon as practicable after agreement is reached between the Council and a designated body on co-operation arrangements, the Council and the body must prepare a memorandum setting them out and send a copy of it to the Secretary of State.

(5)The Council and a designated body must keep under review any co-operation arrangements entered into by them under this section.

(6)As soon as practicable after agreement is reached on any changes to co-operation arrangements, the Council and the designated body to which they relate must revise their memorandum and send a copy of the revised memorandum to the Secretary of State.

(7)The Secretary of State must lay a copy of any document received under this section before each House of Parliament.

21Power to co-operate and give assistance

The Council may make arrangements to co-operate with and give assistance to any person if it considers that to do so would facilitate or be conducive to the exercise of its own functions.

22Voluntary activities

(1)The Council may provide for any person advice or assistance, including research or other services, as respects any matter in which the Council has skill, experience or expertise.

(2)The Council may make such charges as it thinks fit in respect of anything done in exercise of its powers under this section.

(3)The Council may spend such sums as it considers reasonable in the exploitation of commercial opportunities arising from the activities it carries on in the exercise of its functions.

(4)The Council may—

(a)establish one or more bodies corporate to exercise on behalf of the Council such of its functions under this section, in such circumstances, as the Council may determine;

(b)acquire an interest in an existing body corporate with a view to it exercising on behalf of the Council such of its functions under this section, in such circumstances, as the Council may determine.

(5)The Council may acquire an interest in a body corporate under subsection (4)(b) only with the consent of the Secretary of State.

(6)If the Secretary of State gives such consent, the Secretary of State must publish a notice stating that consent has been given and specifying the reasons for giving consent.

23Supplementary powers etc

(1)The Council may do anything (other than borrow money) which is calculated to facilitate, or is incidental or conducive to, the exercise of any of its functions.

(2)The Council must not acquire or dispose of any interest in land, except with the approval of the Secretary of State.

(3)Subsection (2) does not apply to an acquisition of an interest in land under a transfer scheme (within the meaning of section 35).