Consumer council applauds optics

Cullum: consumers now have greater choice

The optical profession has found an ally in the chief executive of the National Consumer Council (NCC).

Philip Cullum told this week's Trading Standards Institute conference that optics was an exemplar of a deregulated retail sector bringing improved consumer choice and lower prices.

Addressing the TSI conference in Brighton on Tuesday (June 21) he told delegates that the NCC was in favour of well-functioning markets, '[and] our starting point is that competition works, with well-informed consumers exercising real choice.'

In his speech, 'Regulation - Less is more?' Cullum said consumers had benefited hugely from deregulation over the years.

'Take three very different markets. Opticians, conveyancing and air travel. Areas where consumers now have greater choice and lower prices thanks to the opening up of markets.'

He said: 'In each case the scare stories were unfounded, and quality standards have been maintained.'

He told conference delegates that the three key reasons why the NCC's presumption was against regulation were: