Legal Services Consumer Panel

As an organisation it is important that we have the mechanisms in place to ensure consistency and challenge in our approach to consumer issues and one of our first priorities has been to set up our Consumer Panel.

The Consumer Panel will play an important role in ensuring that the views and interests of consumers are reflected in our plans. The Panel is independent of the Board and has considerable scope to advise and influence the LSB from the consumer perspective.

The LSB announced the appointment of Elisabeth Davies as Chair of the Consumer Panel on 21 July 2011.

The Legal Services Consumer Panel has its own website that includes information on its current projects, as well as copies of its publications, consultation responses and Panel meeting minutes. The Consumer Panel’s website can be found at: www.legalservicesconsumerpanel.org.uk

The relationship between the LSB and the Consumer Panel is guided by a Memorandum of Understanding.

The membership of the Consumer Panel was announced in November 2009

Elisabeth Davies (Chair)

Elisabeth is Director of Partner Relations at Age UK, where she works closely with over 160 local Age UKs across England and supports the work of Age Cymru, Age Northern Ireland and Age Scotland. She was previously Deputy Chair of Wandsworth Primary Care Trust and is the former Chair of Wandsworth Citizens Advice Bureaux. Her career includes a series of senior roles in the health arena including at the National Patient Safety Agency, the UK Breast Cancer Coalition, the Patients Association and the World Cancer Research Fund. She was also previously Director of Policy at the Refugee Council.

Location: London

Jeff Bell

Jeff is a Trading Standards Consultant based in Stockton-on-Tees. Formerly, he was Chief Trading Standards Officer at Redcar and Cleveland Unitary Council, and worked as a Trading Standards Officer at local authorities in Cleveland, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, and Durham. In these roles he brought three major projects to the North East: Consumer Direct; the Scambuster Team and the Illegal Moneylending Team, managing the latter two through their inception, recruitment and foundation period. He was also Chair of the North East Trading Standards Association and a Member of the North East Electricity Consumers’ Committee.

Location: Stockton-on-Tees

Graham Corbett

Graham Graham is a member of the Employment Tribunal Panel and was working as a Senior National Officer at the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) before taking voluntary redundancy at the end of 2009. Formerly he was Deputy Head of Legal Services at the PCS and a civil servant at the Department of Environment and Transport. He previously chaired the Departmental Trade Union Side for negotiations and was a senior lay representative at the Civil and Public Services Association.

Location: West Yorkshire

Emma Harrison

Emma is Director of Public Engagement at Action on Hearing Loss (formerly Royal National Institute for the Deaf). She brings experience of working in the consumer movement as former Principal Public Affairs Officer at Which? and Campaign Manager at Consumers International. She was also previously a Research Manager and Political Advisor at the European Parliament.

Location: London

Paul Munden

Paul is an experienced general counsel and chartered director. Over the last ten years he has held a number of senior board posts at the Business Link operation in London. He is an accredited tutor with the Institute of Directors leading a number of their board development courses designed to provide an in-depth view of the key duties, roles and legal responsibilities of directors and corporate governance. He has also served as non executive chairman of a Bafta award winning educational software house and a founder non executive director of Customer First UK, which is responsible for the national Customer First quality accreditation framework. He is currently on the board of NHS Mid Essex and the National Youth Music Theatre.

Location: Essex

Neil Wightman

Neil is Head of Housing Needs at the London Borough of Lambeth and is Joint Chair of the Association of Housing Advice Services. He was a member of the Beacon Advisory Panel between 2003 and 2009 and a Trustee Director of Kilburn Youth Service for 10 years. He has worked in local government for over 20 years and before that worked as an advice worker at Sheffield and Clapham Citizens Advice Bureaux.

Location: London

Karin Woodley

Karin is the Chief Executive of ContinYou having ended her role as Chief Executive of the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust in 2009. Formerly, she was Director of the Tabernacle Trust; Deputy Director of the Arkwright Arts Trust; Partner, Keya Associates; and Chief Executive of Minorities Arts Advisory Service. She was also previously Chair of Kensington and Chelsea Metropolitan Police Independent Advisory Group on Race, and Adviser to the Scotland Yard Gold Task Group for the Notting Hill Carnival Policing Strategy.

Location: London