Ms Derville Rowland:

The second part of that will be the impact on customers. That will include characteristics of the customers. As part of that we also need to contact a representative group of customers to find out what is motivating those customers in their circumstances and what are the operating factors in their own decision-making. When this problem is looked at, we have seen that there are a number of very different and important dimensions in terms of the cause. One important factor, which I will put out there straight away, is the very important responsibility on the part of firms to comply with the regulatory frameworks and our expectations. It is very important. That is our role and we are going to discharge it. It is also important to note that complex competition effects are in place here and that is not our role. It is the role of the FCA in the United Kingdom, it is not ours. That is not to shy away from our responsibility, but it is just to be plain that this is a highly complicated topic. The third complicating factor is the way individuals respond. As the level of sophistication of big data increases, the ability of firms across all industries to inform how to use information in the system with nudges through behavioural economical insights becomes an important factor.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, with which the committee has been in contact, is going to carry out a study into consumer behaviour but we too must do a deep piece of work about what is operating with customers. Only through that will we be able to identify any concerns regarding groups of customers who may have characteristics of vulnerability and to see what, if any, impact is being caused to them and any action that may flow from that.