Next steps for consumer credit Forum 2021 | West Minister Business Forum | 8 October 2021 | Online Event

This conference will discuss the impact of recent reforms on both consumers and lenders and evaluate policy priorities going forward for helping those struggling with persistent debt, as well as for ensuring the availability of options for affordable borrowing.

It will be an opportunity for stakeholders and policymakers to consider key issues following the publication of the Woolard Review, which was set up to look at the unsecured credit market and the effect of changes to regulation, as well as the publication of FCA guidance for the fair treatment of vulnerable consumers.

Sessions in the agenda will bring out latest thinking on:
• Key findings in the Woolard Review and priorities going forward
• Protecting vulnerable consumers in the wake of the pandemic
• International best practice in protecting consumers
• Key developments and next steps for the retail lending market
• Priorities for regulation around consumer credit going forward

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on household finances - so far and into the future - will also be discussed, as well as any mitigations required to address the resulting consumer credit challenges.

Attendees
Our forums are known for attracting strong interest from policymakers and stakeholders. Places have been reserved by officials from BEIS; the Department for International Trade; and HM Treasury. Also due to attend are representatives from the beBettor; BT; Capital One UK; Centaurus Commmuncations; Cifas; Consumer Credit Association; Credit Kudos; Debt Camel; Debt Managers Standards Association; Experian; Fea Card; Financial Services Consumer Panel; FLA; Frontier Economics; Gain Credit; Gowling WLG; Grant Thornton UK; Headland; ICAEW; Ipsos MORI; KPMG; Link Financial Outsourcing; Manchester Metropolitan University; Money and Pensions Service; Non-Standard Finance; Payplan; Registry Trust; Taylor Wessing; The Compliance Company; The Insolvency Service; TotallyMoney; and Wescot Credit Services.

Press passes have been reserved by representatives from MLex and Money Marketing.

This is a full-scale conference taking place online***
• Full, four-hour programme including comfort breaks - you’ll also get a full recording and transcript to refer back to
• Information-rich discussion involving key policymakers and stakeholders
• Conference materials provided in advance, including speaker biographies
• Speakers presenting via webcam, accompanied by slides if they wish, using the Cisco WebEx professional online conference platform (easy for delegates - we’ll provide full details)
• Opportunities for live delegate questions and comments with all speakers
• A recording of the addresses, all slides cleared by speakers, and further materials are made available to all delegates afterwards as a permanent record of the proceedings
• Delegates are able to add their own written comments and articles following the conference, to be distributed to all attendees and more widely
• Networking too - there will be opportunities for delegates to e-meet and interact - we’ll tell you how!

***Full-scale policy conference taking place online***

2021 Speakers

Yvonne Fovargue MP
Chair, All-Party Parliamentary Group on Debt and Personal Finance

Nisha Arora
Director, Consumer and Retail Policy Division, FCA

Jason Wassell
Chief Executive Officer, CCTA

Emma Lovell
Chief Executive, Lending Standards Board

Peter Tutton
Head of Policy, StepChange

Dr Sarah Brown
Academic, Contributing Editor Goode: Consumer Credit Law and Practice

Sophie Lessar
Partner, DLA Piper

Jaidev Janardana
Chief Executive Officer, Zopa

Miles Larbey
Head of Financial Consumer Protection, OECD

Alex Marsh
Head, Klarna UK

Jonathan Westley
Chief Data Officer, Experian

Marlene Shiels
Chief Executive, Capital Credit Union

Charlie Mercer
Head of Economic Policy, Coadec

James Pursaill
CTO and Co-founder, Plend

Aleksiina Kallunki
Senior Researcher, Westminster Business Forum