Section 20: Duty to enter into co-operation arrangements
64.Section 20 requires the Council to enter into co-operation arrangements with various bodies (“designated bodies”). The designated bodies are the OFT, the Financial Services Consumer Panel, the OFCOM Consumer Panel and any other person designated by the Secretary of State by order. Subsection (3) sets out the matters which such arrangements should deal with. These agreements are intended to enable the Council and the designated regulators to work together in exercising their functions in relation to the provision of advice or information to consumers in areas where these functions overlap.
65.Subsections (4) to (6) provide that memoranda setting out each co-operation arrangement and any revisions must be sent to the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State must lay any memoranda detailing the cooperation arrangement received by him before Parliament (subsection (7)).
66.In addition to these cooperation arrangements, sections 39 and 40 and Schedule 1 paragraph 1(4) make provision about cross-appointments between the Council and the OFCOM Consumer Panel and the Financial Services Consumer Panel. This is also to ensure that the Panels and the Council work closely together.
