The Resolution Foundation held a seminar on Thursday 11th October 2007 to launch the Foundation’s new report Compare & Contrast: How the UK Comparison Website Market is serving Financial Consumers. The purpose of the seminar was to facilitate discussion on the Foundation’s research findings and to discuss its proposal for a new voluntary code of practice for the sector. Patrick South, Acting-Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation, chaired and opened the seminar, explaining why the Foundation had undertaken this research. Claudia Wood, the Foundation’s Policy and Research manager followed Patrick, outlining the project’s research objectives, methodology and the main findings. The following discussion on the report fell into two main areas; reflections on the findings and the potential introduction of a code of practice. There was consensus that the introduction of a voluntary code of practice would be a positive development and there was strong support for such a code being led by the industry. Three potential governance options were suggested: a stakeholder forum, the FSA, and a trade body, and the need to move quickly on establishing a code was strongly endorsed by all those present.
