Committee for Consumers in Vulnerable Circumstances
Minutes of meeting, Meeting 12, 14 May 2026, 10.00am – Online
Attendees
Angela Morgan, Chair (Board, Consumer Scotland)
David Eiser (Director of Research, Analysis and Investigations, Consumer Scotland)
Kirsten Urquhart (Independent)
Lucy Mulvagh (Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland)
Aaliya Seyal (Chief Executive Officer, Legal Services Agency)
Jane Williams (Head of Research, Consumer Scotland)
Hannah Corbett (Energy Policy Manager, Consumer Scotland)
Eva Ablett (Consumer Markets Policy Manager, Consumer Scotland)
Shona Hamilton (Water Policy Officer, Consumer Scotland)
Heather Craig (Analysis Manager, Consumer Scotland)
David Jackson (Policy and Advocacy Officer, Consumer Scotland)
Catriona Kirk (Operations Team, Consumer Scotland – Minutes)
Apologies
John McKendrick (Glasgow Caledonian University)
Karen Nailen (Chief Executive, West Lothian Citizens Advice Bureau)
Kendal Morris (SP Energy Networks)
Douglas White (Director of Policy and Advocacy, Consumer Scotland)
Twimukye Macline Mushaka (Independent)
Artemis Pana (Scottish Rural Action)
Agenda Item 1: Arrival
Agenda Item 2: Welcome and Introductions
1. The Chair welcomed members to the twelfth meeting of the Advisory Committee on Consumers in Vulnerable Circumstances. The meeting was hosted virtually.
2. Apologies were noted and members unable to attend had been invited to provide any feedback on papers via email.
3. Whilst members were joining the call, Lucy Mulvagh provided a brief update on DES (Disabled Equality Scotland), a membership organisation for disabled people and disability groups/organisations, and the work they were focussing on.
4. The minutes of the previous Committee meeting held on 12th of February 2026 were approved.
Agenda Item 3: Consumer Scotland Roundup
5. David Jackson provided an overview of updates relevant to previous Committee discussions since the last meeting held on the 12th of February 2026, highlighting:
- Transport and Accessibility – the report is in the final stages, with engagement with relevant stakeholders planned to ensure the information within aligns with their understanding of the industry. The Committee were pleased to hear that the Transport workstream was continuing into the 2026-2027 work programme year.
- Consumer Welfare Report – this report must be undertaken every three years to address how well consumers in Scotland are being served and where there may be harm to consumers. The survey element for this piece of work has been developed and is currently in the field. The team working on the report have engaged with a significant number of stakeholders and the report is due to be published in September. It was agreed that the Committee will revisit this as an agenda item around August, prior to publication.
6. Members noted their preference of the tabular format used in the updates paper.
Agenda Item 4: Consumer Scotland Statutory Review of Performance and the CCVC
7. David Eiser started by providing a summary of the Statutory Review of Performance for members, noting that:
- The Statutory Review of Performance is a requirement under Consumer Scotland’s (CS) founding legislation, the Consumer Scotland Act (2020).
- The review, published in March 2026, was the first of its kind - delivered by Elaine Lorimer, former Chief Executive at Revenue Scotland.
- The review took place between January and March 2026 and involved engagement with internal staff, the Board and a range of external stakeholders.
- CS felt the review was a fair and balanced assessment of their first 3 years – highlighting CS’ success in establishing itself, and reiterating the challenges associated with its funding and restrictions with their operating model.
- The review also recognises CS successful establishment as an expert in the policy areas it engages in, and the robustness of the research it undertakes to inform its evidence base. At the same time the review challenges CS to ensure there is clear impact demonstrated from its advocacy and research.
- CS’ collaborative approach to stakeholder engagement was recognised, but the review also challenges CS to more fully exercise its strategic leadership role within the consumer landscape.
8. David Eiser concluded by noting that the recommendations from the review were welcomed by CS and that the review would help guide the direction of the next Strategic Plan.
9. The Chair then provided an overview of how the review reflected on the Committee, noting the value of the Committee having been a knowledgeable sounding board for CS work, and that the Committee shall continue to be important in the ongoing development of the culture and collaborative approach of the organisation.
10. The Committee discussed the recommendation around the Committee’s governance and member appointments. The members generally felt in favour of the roles remaining advisory, as this allowed for flexibility to pull experts into discussions as new issues emerge.
11. The Committee also discussed the recommendation around illustrating impact and how it can be difficult to translate technical reports into relatable outcomes. The Committee agreed that humanising reports and research could help increase awareness around impact.
12. The Chair reiterated that connections made through the Committee have been of enormous benefit to CS and thanks members for their role in this.
Agenda Item 5: Vulnerable Consumers of Park Homes
13. Hannah Corbett joined the meeting to provide the Committee with an insight into CS’ work on residential park homes.
14. A proportion of Scottish park home residents are in vulnerable circumstances. Statistics gathered from a survey of 136 people in 2023 included:
- 93% or respondents aged between 55-79
- 25% respondents said they received a health or disability related benefit or lived with someone who did
- 37% of respondents said they received benefits or lived with someone who received them
15. It was noted that the data was taken from a small sample and was relatively old. However, in the absence of more up to date data, this had been used as a guide for the work.
16. Engagement with the Scottish Association of Park Home Residents Association (SCOPHRA) and a small number of residents identified three main challenges. Hannah presented several case studies across the main challenges which included:
- Issues accessing affordable and sustainable energy due to challenges arising from energy being resold by site owners to residents
- Difficulties with the sale and purchase of homes, including mis-selling
- Poor site management and communication between site owners and residents
17. To add to the challenges, there are a number of different legal frameworks and rules governing residential park homes that differ from those governing holiday homes or traditional home purchasing.
18. The Committee members provided some feedback on the subject, including:
- The issues around the lack of available and affordable legal advice
- Licenses required for park home owners and;
- Sharing this research with the Scottish Human Rights Commission
19. The Committee thanked Hannah for joining the meeting. Hannah noted she was happy for the committee to contact her if they had any follow-up questions. David J took an action to share slides with committee members.
Agenda Item 6: Disabled Consumers and the Social Rented Sector
20. Eva Abett and Heather Craig led the presentation on disabled consumers’ experiences within the social rented sector in Scotland.
21. Recent research on the social rented sector in Scotland identified that disabled consumers are a key group experiencing challenges within the sector. Key findings included:
- While most social renters report general satisfaction, nearly half had experienced an issue.
- Satisfaction levels are lower among certain groups, particularly those with a limiting disability or health condition.
- There is notable dissatisfaction with landlord responsiveness to reported issues and complaints handling processes.
- Awareness of escalation routes for unresolved issues is limited.
22. Heather highlighted several disparities in the experiences of disabled renters:
- Lower overall satisfaction with their housing experience.
- Greater dissatisfaction with energy efficiency and the cost of heating their homes.
- Those whose condition limits them “a lot” are less likely to feel their property meets their needs.
- Higher likelihood of having experienced issues with property condition within the past six months.
- Lower satisfaction with repairs services among those who had repairs carried out in the previous 12 months.
- Reduced likelihood of having issues successfully resolved by landlords.
23. The findings indicate that compounding factors lead to significantly poorer experiences for disabled social renters. Eva and Heather outlined their recommendations, noting that it is essential that:
- Social landlords better understand and respond to the needs of disabled tenants.
- Effective accountability mechanisms are in place when landlords fail to meet these needs.
24. Eva highlighted that work is ongoing with relevant stakeholders to ensure recommendations from the report create impact for disabled social renters in Scotland.
25. The Committee discussed the findings and noted the importance of engaging disabled renters through Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) and independent living centres.
26. The Committee thanked Eva and Heather for joining the meeting.
Agenda Item 7: Arrangements for Future Meetings
27. David Jackson noted that the paper on future meetings, issued to members prior to the meeting, set out a proposal to make Committee meetings as accessible as possible for members.
28. The Chair proposed trialling a more hybrid approach to meetings, alternating between in-person and online sessions, with the aim of improving accessibility and attendance.
29. It was agreed to trial the meeting schedule, as outlined above.
Agenda Item 8: Flash Roundup
30. Members were invited to provide any updates relevant to the Committee.
31. Kirsten Urquhart raised the potential interest in new research published by The Compassion in Financial Services Hub at the University of Edinburgh which looked into gaming currency as an unregulated market.
Agenda Item 9: AOB/Next Steps
32. The Chair noted there were some individual actions including follow-up discussions, specifically with Committee members unable to attend the meeting today, and presentation slides and publications to be shared.
33. With no other business, the meeting was closed.
Confirmed Dates for Upcoming Meetings
13 August 2026 in person
12 November 2026 online