27/10/2026
Plan To Bolster Consumer Protection Across Northern Ireland
The Consumer Council has set out a new Corporate Plan for 2026 to 2032, outlining its priorities to protect, represent and empower consumers across Northern Ireland over the next six years.
The strategy was launched at Parliament Buildings, Stormont, on Wednesday 21 October, at an event that brought together representatives from government, regulators, industry, consumer groups, and the voluntary and community sectors.
Attendees included the Consumer Council's Board, Chief Executive and Senior Leadership Team, alongside Sarah Adcock OBE, Director for Consumer and Competition Policy at the Department for Business, Science, Innovation and Trade; Sam Ghibaldan, Chief Executive of Consumer Scotland; Chris Pond, Chair of the Financial Conduct Authority Financial Services Consumer Panel; and Maeve Hamilton, Director, Consumer Protection and Workplace Safety, Department for the Economy NI. Discussions focused on consumers' role in the economy, the power of consumer-led reform, ensuring lived experience informs policy and regulation, and how the Consumer Council plans to translate ambition into action.
The plan is framed around five strategic priorities, known as the Five Lives: Represented, Affordable, Inclusive, Sustainable and Empowered Lives — a blueprint designed to reflect the interconnected realities of consumers, the range of markets and jurisdictions, and the specific needs of Northern Ireland's people and businesses.
Welcoming the plan, Economy Minister, Dr Caoimhe Archibald, stated: "Consumers are central to our economy, and it is vital that their voices and lived experiences help shape the decisions that affect them.
"I welcome this ambitious Corporate Plan and its focus on ensuring consumers are represented, protected and empowered.
"By turning strong evidence into influence and action, the Consumer Council can help deliver fairer markets and better outcomes for people across the North."
Noyona Chundur, Chief Executive of the Consumer Council, said: "Our 2026-2032 Corporate Plan is built on evidence, shaped by the voices of consumers, our partners and stakeholders, and grounded in the everyday reality of life across Northern Ireland today.
"Consumer protection and economic growth are not competing priorities; they are two sides of the same coin. Over the next six years, we will focus on what matters: improving people's lives. We will advocate, collaborate and remain agile as markets and policy landscapes shift. We will expand research, communications and outreach, strengthen collaboration and partnerships in Northern Ireland, Great Britian and Europe, influence with intention on behalf of consumers, invest in our people and deliver value to the public purse.
"We are ambitious for the future, and our ambition is grounded in what the Consumer Council does best: listening, championing, influencing and delivering."
The Consumer Council's 2026–2032 Corporate Plan is available on its website.
The strategy was launched at Parliament Buildings, Stormont, on Wednesday 21 October, at an event that brought together representatives from government, regulators, industry, consumer groups, and the voluntary and community sectors.
Attendees included the Consumer Council's Board, Chief Executive and Senior Leadership Team, alongside Sarah Adcock OBE, Director for Consumer and Competition Policy at the Department for Business, Science, Innovation and Trade; Sam Ghibaldan, Chief Executive of Consumer Scotland; Chris Pond, Chair of the Financial Conduct Authority Financial Services Consumer Panel; and Maeve Hamilton, Director, Consumer Protection and Workplace Safety, Department for the Economy NI. Discussions focused on consumers' role in the economy, the power of consumer-led reform, ensuring lived experience informs policy and regulation, and how the Consumer Council plans to translate ambition into action.
The plan is framed around five strategic priorities, known as the Five Lives: Represented, Affordable, Inclusive, Sustainable and Empowered Lives — a blueprint designed to reflect the interconnected realities of consumers, the range of markets and jurisdictions, and the specific needs of Northern Ireland's people and businesses.
"I welcome this ambitious Corporate Plan and its focus on ensuring consumers are represented, protected and empowered.
"By turning strong evidence into influence and action, the Consumer Council can help deliver fairer markets and better outcomes for people across the North."
Noyona Chundur, Chief Executive of the Consumer Council, said: "Our 2026-2032 Corporate Plan is built on evidence, shaped by the voices of consumers, our partners and stakeholders, and grounded in the everyday reality of life across Northern Ireland today.
"Consumer protection and economic growth are not competing priorities; they are two sides of the same coin. Over the next six years, we will focus on what matters: improving people's lives. We will advocate, collaborate and remain agile as markets and policy landscapes shift. We will expand research, communications and outreach, strengthen collaboration and partnerships in Northern Ireland, Great Britian and Europe, influence with intention on behalf of consumers, invest in our people and deliver value to the public purse.
"We are ambitious for the future, and our ambition is grounded in what the Consumer Council does best: listening, championing, influencing and delivering."
The Consumer Council's 2026–2032 Corporate Plan is available on its website.
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