The Consumer Council of Nothern Ireland is passionate about championing consumer interests and we put them at the heart of everything we do.
As the consumer representative body of Northern Ireland (NI), they are responsible for ensuring that legislation and regulation for consumer protection works effectively for consumers here.
They are an insight-led evidence based organisation:
Established in April 1985 as a non-departmental public body (NDPB) under the General Consumer Council (Northern Ireland) Order 1984 (The Order), they operate under the Department for the Economy (DfE) on behalf of the Northern Ireland Executive (The Executive).
Their statutory functions cover energy, post, transport, water and sewerage, and food affordability and accessibility. Their non-statutory functions educate and empower consumers against unfair or discriminatory practices in any market including financial services and private car parks. Across both, they pay particular regard to consumers:
They are a designated body under the Rural Needs Act 2016 and Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. In this role, they aim to ensure government policies recognise consumer needs in rural areas, and promote equality of opportunity and good relations across a range of equality categories.
The Consumer Council of Nothern Ireland is committed to ensuring positive outcomes for consumers. They are a designated super-complaints body set up under the Enterprise Act 2002 and the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 Order 2013.
Under both these Acts, The Consumer Council can, if we believe a market in the United Kingdom (UK) is, or appears to be, significantly harming the interests of consumers, raise a super-complaint on behalf of consumers to the following UK and NI regulators:
Under the Gas and Electricity Licence Modification and Appeals Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015, we can also make an appeal to the CMA, if we believe a modification by the UR to the licence of a gas or electricity provider is detrimental to the interests of consumers
We have a proud history of promoting and safeguarding consumer interests. We work with government, and UK and NI regulators, to ensure markets and public services focus on delivering better outcomes for consumers. During our Corporate Plan 2016-2021, we have: