Section 49: Approval of redress schemes
133.Section 49 sets out the matters to be taken into account by the regulator in giving approval for a redress scheme.
134.Subsection (1) specifies various matters that the relevant regulator must have regard to when deciding whether to approve a scheme. These include any criteria that, in the opinion of the regulator, constitute generally accepted principles of best practice in relation to redress provision which could reasonably apply to the scheme. An example of such principles would be the guidelines provided by the British and Irish Ombudsman Association (www.bioa.org.uk).
135.Subsection (2) requires the regulator to have regard to the number of other redress schemes in relation to regulated suppliers when the regulator decides whether to approve a scheme. This is intended to avoid a proliferation of redress schemes as this could be confusing for consumers.
136.Subsections (3), (6) and (7) set out various conditions that a redress scheme must satisfy in order to be approved by a relevant regulator.
