NOTES TO EDITORS:

1. The Conference is being held at the FSA's offices in Canary Wharf in London on 4th November 2005. The delegates are from the following organisations:
   

•Konsument, Austria
• Test-Achats, Belgium
• Cyprus Consumers Association
• Spotrebitelsky poradensky a informacni Servis, Czech Republic
• Consumers Defence Association, Czech Republic
• Estonian Consumers Union
• German National Consumer Association
• National Association for Consumer Protection, Hungary
• Consultative Consumer Panel, Ireland
• Consumer Rights Protection Centre, Latvia
• LN Consumers Federation, Lithuania
• Consumers Association, Malta
• Consumentenbond, Netherlands
• Associacao Portuguesa para a Defensa do Consumidor, Portugal
• ZPS, Slovenia
• ADICAE, Spain
• Citizens Advice, UK
• Which?, UK
• BEUC
• CESR


2. The FSA established the independent Financial Services Consumer Panel in December 1998 to advise its Board on the interests and concerns of consumers and to report on the FSA’s performance in meeting its objectives. The Consumer Panel has statutory status.
   
   
3. The emphasis of the Panel’s work is on activities that are regulated by the FSA, although it may also look at the impact on consumers of activities outside but related to the FSA’s remit. More information about the Panel's work is available on our website – www.fs-cp.org.uk
   
   
4. The Consumer Panel brings together a wide range of relevant experience. This includes financial services regulation, working with vulnerable consumers, consumer protection, consumer education, front-line money advice, legal expertise, competition policy, public policy analysis, market research and media.
   
   
5. There are currently eleven members of the Panel as listed below (for further information on individual members, see the Panel's website) .

John Howard (Chairman)
Adam Phillips (Vice Chairman)
Caroline Gardner
Harriet Hall
Tony Hetherington
Stephen Locke
Nick Lord
David Metz
Paul Salvidge
Robert Skinner
Carol Stewart