This duty, introduced under the Consumer Scotland Act 2020 and passed by the Scottish Parliament, will come into full effect in April.

Under the duty, public bodies who are bound by it must consider the impact on consumers in Scotland when they make strategic decisions – including reducing harm.

As the statutory body for consumers in Scotland, Consumer Scotland has issued guidance for the relevant public bodies in order to help them meet the duty.

The guidance makes a number of recommendations for public bodies including:

• Completing an impact assessment.
• Engaging with consumers throughout the process of strategic decision-making.
• Considering how to reduce harm to consumers.
• Appointing a consumer duty champion to ensure meeting the duty is embedded in strategic decision-making.

Public bodies must publish information about the steps they have taken to comply with the duty. 

Consumer Scotland Assistant Director Jill Rosie said: “The consumer duty aims to put consumer interests at the heart of strategic decision-making across the public sector. 
“Meeting the duty will not only improve outcomes for consumers, it will also provide value to the relevant public bodies and improve the services they provide.

“Other benefits of meeting the duty include making it easier for the public to relate to policies and inspiring greater levels of trust and confidence over time.

“The final guidance was shaped by the views of all those who responded to our consultation on draft guidance and we would like to thank all those who took part.”

Consumer Scotland will review the guidance annually and update where appropriate – as well as meeting public bodies to increase awareness of the guidance and how to implement it.