Dave Thompson MSP

Dave Thompson, SNP MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch recently (24/03/15) hosted the Scottish Young Consumer of the Year final in the Scottish Parliament.

The competition was organised by the Trading Standards Institute and its Consumer Education Liaison Group; allowing teams of four 14-17 year olds to compete in a knockout consumer quiz.

The winners, Ayr Academy, will now go onto compete at the Trading Standards Institute (TSI) UK Final held in London on 24th & 25th June 2015.

Mr Thompson said, “I thoroughly enjoyed hosting the Young Consumers Event in the Parliament and I particularly enjoyed watching the enthusiasm generated by the quiz.

“I had been rooting for Fortrose Academy who are from my constituency. The team can hold their heads high having made the Scottish final and given a good account of themselves by finishing third.

“I congratulate the winners, Ayr Academy and wish them all the best in the UK final in June.

“Thanks to all at the Trading Standards Institute for organising the event and to everyone who attended on the night”.

Chief Executive Officer of Citizen’s Advice Scotland, Margaret Lynch, who formally opened last night’s final stated:

“Congratulations to Ayr Academy for winning the Scottish Young Consumer of the Year 2015 final, and good luck for the UK final in June. I also want to say well done to all the teams who took part; their hard work and enthusiasm for the competition is highly commendable.

Citizens Advice Scotland is delighted to have sponsored the competition for the third year. We strongly believe in investing in our young people with events like Young Consumer of the Year. Programmes like this give them the opportunity to understand when their rights are being compromised, and empower them to stand up for themselves and others.

A good knowledge of rights and responsibilities – from social responsibility to statutory consumer rights – gives students a solid footing to deal with the experiences and challenges ahead of them. The Scottish Citizens Advice Service supports clients with more than 280,000 consumer issues a year, and in doing so helps them to understand their rights, and engage with the regulations and processes which affect them on a daily basis.

Veronica McGinley, Chair of the Scottish Branch of the Trading Standards Institute said, “The Scottish Branch of TSI is absolutely delighted to help sponsor this fantastic event. The 5 schools competing had a firm grasp of the knowledge required by modern consumers and provided an exciting and close run final. All contestants were wonderful ambassadors for their schools and communities. Good luck to Ayr Academy at the UK final”.

Adam Moore, Management Systems Analyst said, “Veolia were delighted to be involved with the Young Consumer Competition again this year. It was good to see a keenly fought out contest. This competition is an important way that we can raise awareness in our young people. Congratulations to Trading Standards for yet another well run competition and thanks to all those involved including Citizens Advice Scotland and Dave Thompson for being the sponsor once again”.