That was the week that was
As a semi-retired portfolio worker, my workload fluctuates considerably, but this week was probably the busiest of the year.
On Monday, I attended a consultation with consumers to debate the future of banking. This was organised by Consumer Focus – on whose Board I sit – at the request of the Independent Banking Commission. I was asked to produce a short account of this event for Consumer Focus colleagues and you can read this here.
On Tuesday, I chaired the quarterly meeting of the Consumer Focus Post Offices Advisory Group which brings together a range of stakeholders with an interest in the future of the Post Office network. The meeting was addressed by the Minister for Postal Services Edward Davey. When I commented on his evident commitment to maintaining a strong network, he quipped: “Philately will get you anywhere”.
On Wednesday, I attended the monthly meeting of the Communications Consumer Panel on which I am the Member for England. We discussed our future in the light of the Government’s intention to abolish us and transfer our functions to Citizens Advice. But we may be around for another year. In the evening, I attended the 12th and last of the classes on my International Relations course at the City Literary Institute. I’ve registered for Part 2 of the course which runs from January-April 2011.
On Thursday, I attended the bimonthly meeting of the Board of Consumer Focus. We discussed our future in the light of the Government’s intention to abolish us and transfer our functions to Citizens Advice (sound familiar?). But we may be around until April 2013. We had a special session on energy policy looking at what has been called the energy trilemma: securing energy supplies, reducing the carbon footprint, and keeping prices to consumers at an affordable level.
On Friday, I attended the quarterly meeting of the Policy Stakeholder Committee of Nominet which is responsible for .uk domain names. We are planning a major conference on trust and the Internet to be held in May 2011.
The next few weeks are totally clear of meetings, so lots of turkey and mince pies – and no doubt some blogging.