Professor McKendrick appointed to Consumer Scotland advisory committee

Professor John McKendrick has been appointed to Consumer Scotland's new advisory committee in charge of representing consumers in vulnerable circumstances.

The co-director of the Scottish Poverty and Inequality Research Unit at Glasgow Caledonian has joined the Consumers in Vulnerable Circumstances Advisory Committee (CCVC).

Consumer Scotland is an independent statutory body established to ensure consumer interests are at the heart of a fair, transparent and sustainable Scottish marketplace. It has a responsibility to give particular focus in its work to consumers in vulnerable circumstances. This is defined as consumers who may have fewer or lesser favourable options than a typical consumer due to their circumstances or characteristic, or consumers whose interests are at greater risk of harm or more substantial harm than a typical consumer.

Low financial resilience is one of the key drivers of vulnerability, with other drivers being health, life events, resilience and capability. These drivers of vulnerability may place consumers at greater risk of detriment or at risk of experiencing more severe detriment in their interactions with markets.

The CCVC will be responsible for supporting Consumer Scotland in ensuring its work is grounded in the lived experience of consumers in Scotland who have, for any period of time, experienced vulnerability.