CMA response to MCS’s consultation on proposed scheme changes
The CMA has published its response to the Microgeneration Certification Scheme’s consultation on proposed changes to its scheme.
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The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has responded to the Microgeneration Certification Scheme’s (MCS) consultation on proposed changes to its scheme.
The CMA’s response was informed by its work looking at consumer protection in the green heating and insulation sector – in particular the good practice principles for standards bodies, together with its findings on the effectiveness of the standards landscape.
In summary, the CMA’s response welcomes the stated aim and principle of the proposed changes ‘to place consumer protection at the heart of the scheme’ through improvements in transparency, consistency, and surveillance – these areas of focus reflect the areas of concern the CMA identified in its assessment of the standards landscape.
However, the CMA has set out several broad considerations to inform MCS’s proposed changes to its scheme, to help to ensure good outcomes for consumers through a high level of consumer protection. These relate to the impact of changes on the overall level of consumer protections (in particular it is crucial that any changes to the MCS scheme are delivered in a way that at least maintains, and, preferably, enhances existing levels of consumer protection); mitigating potential design and delivery risks; and considering the potential implications for the wider standards landscape.
The CMA response strongly encourages MCS to take these considerations into account, and more broadly, to review its current practices and proposed changes against the good practice principles.
The CMA has also responded to some of MSC’s specific proposals.