Ofcom Names Colette Bowe As Head Of Consumer Panel
Ofcom has announced the appointment of Colette Bowe as the chairwoman of its independent consumer panel, which will advise the new super-regulator on public interest issues.
The new position will see Bowe assume responsibility for chairing a panel of ten to twelve part-time members representing to Ofcom the interests of individual consumers and small businesses in relation to issues surrounding the broadcasting and telecommunications sectors.
Bowe is currently chair of the council of the Telecoms Ombudsman Service and will stand down from this post when she takes up her role with the consumer panel. She is also the deputy chairman of Thames Water Utilities, a board member of the Yorkshire Building Society and the Statistics Commission and also the incoming chairwoman of the Council of Queen Mary at the University of London.
Commenting on her new position, Bowe said: “The consumer panel will be a critical friend to the Ofcom board. The panel’s recommendations to Ofcom will be supported by independent research and will perform an important role in helping inform Ofcom’s decision-making.”
She continued: “The panel will raise issues of consumer interest, including those affecting rural consumers, the elderly, people with disabilities and those who are on low incomes or otherwise disadvantaged. It will also address issues of importance for small businesses.”
Ofcom chairman, Lord Currie, said: “Colette Bowe’s commitment to representing the consumer interest, allied to her long career in the public and private sectors and her deeply relevant understanding of the markets Ofcom will regulate, make her ideal for this key role championing the interests of consumers.”
It is hoped the consumer panel will silence Ofcom’s critics who have argued that the Communications Bill concentrated too much on Ofcom’s duties to the industry at the expense of its role in protecting the public interest. Earlier this year, Stephen Cater, chief executive of Ofcom argued that the new super-regulator would embrace the twin duties of protecting the citizen and the consumer (see Carter Blasts Risky Amendments To Communications Bill).
Ofcom recently lifted the rules banning Channel 4, Channel Five and BSkyB from selling advertising airtime jointly, in a move that paves the way for a merger of their sales operations (see Ofcom Clears Way For Sales House Consolidation).
Ofcom: 020 7981 3000 www.ofcom.org.uk
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