Before too long we will also together enforce the Injunctions Directive or, as Ministers prefer, Stop Now Orders. In all of these areas we must share information, apply our experience and expertise. We share the collective goal of safeguarding consumers. My theme today is how we can we deliver better the protection and benefits that consumers expect. I will look at examples of cases where together we have been successful, the lessons we can learn from those cases, and consider how we can build on these to use our powers and resources to gain better results in the future.
Effective enforcement is the key goal.
Advice and education for both consumers and business are important but cannot deliver everything. Over the months to come we will be doing a great deal on self-regulation, on consumer information, and on advice for business. But today I want to focus on the core of our consumer protection-enforcing legislation. We all know that, despite immense efforts and the commitment of many enforcement officers at both local and national level, we have had problems in discharging our responsibilities as we would have liked. Reports from the Audit Commission and the National Audit Office showed up gaps in the provision of protection across the country.