This week saw two significant advances for consumers in Scotland. On Wednesday, the UK Government published a green paper on consumer markets, setting out its vision for how consumer rights should be at the heart of the policy agenda as the UK prepares to leave the EU.

Then on Thursday the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) sent a warning notice to companies who have been misleading consumers about their delivery charges to northern Scotland.

Amid air strikes, Presidential scandals and the Commonwealth Games, such events have not grabbed much attention. But they are important.

We are all consumers. Whether we are paying our energy bills; taking out a loan; returning faulty goods; or getting on a bus – these are all activities we do on a regular basis, and areas where we need effective consumer protection.

Such issues form a large part of the workload of the Citizens Advice network. We give consumer advice every day through our 60 Citizens Advice Bureaus, our consumer helpline and website.

With the right advice, we can all save a lot of money. Last year, for example, Scots saved over £1m on energy issues alone after we introduced people to cash-saving schemes and intervening with creditors. That’s money that would have stayed in the pockets of the energy companies.

We also see it as our role to be the voice of Scotland’s consumers. A public survey we conducted last month found that 48 per cent of Scots are concerned about energy bills, and 50 per cent are worried about the price of food. The same survey found that 47 per cent of Scots are concerned about leaving the EU. And of those, 39 per cent are worried about their consumer rights.

So, we welcome the green paper’s emphasis on consumer rights, particularly its objective of creating well-regulated markets where loyalty is rewarded not penalised, and where people are supported to switch supplier where necessary. We also welcome its recognition that there are vulnerable consumers who often need more targeted support.

The issue of Brexit brings these issues into sharp focus. So many of our consumer rights are bound up in European legislation. The green paper is right to identify the need to make sure that our rights are protected whatever our constitutional arrangements. The focus should not be on what those arrangements are but on whether they meet the consumer need.

The issue of unfair delivery charges is one we have been raising for years. Over a million Scots live in areas which are hit by unfairly inflated delivery fees, but what makes people even angrier is when the charges are wrongly advertised online. We called for the ASA to take action and their enforcement letter will hopefully go some way to addressing the problem – but the fight on this is by no means over.

Last year’s Scotland Act gives Scottish Ministers more tools to help consumers. They now have powers over advice and advocacy, which will enable them to consider how our geography and our separate legal system impacts on consumers.

Scotland is a consumer society. That means Scots need someone who will fight to protect those rights and extend them where necessary.