Protecting Consumers: TPO’s Council The Ombudsman Association renewed its validation of TPO’s complaint handling and governance arrangements in 2017. The Governance arrangements ensure that the Ombudsman and her staff can act independently and impartially. NB: TPO’s Board is represented on the Council via Gerry Fitzjohn, Board Chairman, and Michael Stoop, Vice Chair. Find out more about the role of TPO’s Council: www.tpos.co.uk/about-us/council The Ombudsman reports to the independent Council. Only the Ombudsman and her adjudicators are empowered to decide cases. The Ombudsman’s decisions are final and cannot be appealed or overturned by the Council or the Board. Under the approved governance arrangements, the Council appoints the Ombudsman. Its members represent the interests of the consumer, and have the following key responsibilities: - Reviewing the Ombudsman’s Terms of Reference - Ensuring the Ombudsman’s independence -  Considering cases referred by the Ombudsman for disciplinary action against scheme members where there have been flagrant or persistent breaches of the Codes of Practice TPO Council Members (Dec 2017): Baroness Diana Warwick was appointed Chair of TPO’s independent Council in May 2017 to lead the council and ensure the Ombudsman can act independently and impartially when reviewing property disputes. She is the current Chair of the National Housing Federation and is a Non-Executive Board Member Pension Protection Fund. Vivienne Sugar is Vice-Chair of Council and Chair of the TPO Finance and Performance Committee, responsible for performance monitoring. Vivienne is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing and Chair of the Bevan Foundation, which carries out research into poverty and injustice. Vivienne was appointed to Council in 2010. Gillian Fleming is Chair of the Disciplinary & Standards Committee. An Accredited Mediator and Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Gillian’s career has been focused on resolving professional services disputes in the public and private sector. Gillian was appointed to Council in 2016. Mark McLaren Mark’s previous role for Which? Consumers’ Association saw him directly involved in the work that led to Estate and Letting Agents being required to join an independent redress scheme. Mark was appointed to Council in 2015. Victor Olowe is a Leadership Consultant at Winzest Consulting and he holds non-executive positions in a number of organisations, including Non-Executive Director for the CTSI’s Consumer Codes Approval Board. Victor was appointed to Council in 2013. April Stroud is a Senior Lecturer in Law at Solent University, specialising in Land Law and Regulation. April was appointed to Council in 2010. 18 THE PROPERTY OMBUDSMAN ANNUAL REPORT 2017