Journal of Trading Standards Winter 2024

✚ Councils in crisis

Why financial turmoil is putting the public at risk

✚ After-scam support

Helping older people who have lost out to fraudsters

✚ Students’ rights

How Trading Standards is looking out for learners

✚ Down on the farm

Easing pressures on the agricultural community

Winter 2024 | www.journaloftradingstandards.co.uk

ON THE HOME FRONT Why Trading Standards is fighting to protect the rights of tenants

CTSI Conference 2024

The UK’s Leading Consumer Affairs and Trading Standards Event

Facing the future Innovate I Collaborate I Influence Save the Date! 18 – 20 June 2024 The Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds

www.tradingstandards.uk/conference #CTSIConf

Journal of Trading Standards WINTER 2024

Leader

Get involved As we navigate these dark winter days there is light at the end of the tunnel, with spring just around the corner. Many consumers however are still facing an uphill struggle as they continue to deal with cost-of-living pressures and the neverending wave of scams which now seem to be part of our daily lives. Businesses face pressures from the legacy of Brexit, James Munro the pandemic and the challenges of new legislation, and the Chair, CTSI political landscape is uncertain with a general election at some point in the next twelve months.

CTSI has never been so important and I feel very proud to represent the Institute and all it stands for. The Trading Standards profession has a long history of supporting its members in their work and, like any membership organisation, is only as strong as the people it represents — wherever they may be. It is vital that we come together to have the combined voice that has been so effective “CTSI has never been so in lobbying government and those who fund and support the services we deliver. important and I feel very Our members come from all walks of life proud to represent the and all play a vital role in our work. Student Institute and all it stands for” members and apprentices are the lifeblood of our profession and it is incumbent on us all to support and encourage them in their new career.

We also have many members outside our traditional local government sector — they have the same values but bring a different and important perspective to our overall aims. Our retired members are sometimes overlooked but they are a key source of experience and wisdom.

Conference in June is not far off — this is our flagship event of the year and is shaping up to be the best yet. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible, wherever you are in the country and whatever role you have.

As we enter a new year, I urge you to do one thing for our profession. There are so many opportunities; apply for a bursary, nominate a colleague for fellowship, get engaged with your local branch, take an additional qualification, become a Lead Officer — the list is endless, and the outcomes can be so rewarding. Please get involved and let me know if there is anything I can do to help.

www.JournalofTradingStandards.co.uk

Editor-in-Chief:

Kerry Nicol Editor:

Richard Young Designer:

Sam Millard Consultant:

Paul Thomas Evans Lead Developer:

Mika Sadler Contributors:

Matt Allwright, Kerry Nicol, Kate Pike, Adrian Simpson, Duncan Stephenson Writers:

Helen Nugent, Richard Young

Article suggestions and feedback should be sent to: editor@JournalofTradingStandards.co.uk The Journal of Trading Standards magazine and website are produced on contract by Fourth Estate Creative Ltd. www.fourthestatecreative.com connect@fourthestatecreative.com Printed in the UK by Manson Group Distributed by Gold Key Media Published by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, 1 Sylvan Court, Sylvan Way, Southfields Business Park, Basildon SS15 6TH. www.tradingstandards.uk 01268 582 200 © 2023, Chartered Trading Standards Institute. All rights reserved.

Views expressed by the authors are not necessarily the views of CTSI.

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Journal of Trading Standards WINTER 2024

Contents NEWS & FEATURES

COVER STORY

FEATURE

05 | News

18

24

No place like home Why Trading Standards hopes planned new legislation will bring stability and increased protections to the rented housing sector.

Doing more with less How cuts, workforce changes and increased responsibilities have put additional strains on already stretched enforcement capacity.

30 | Opinion: Duncan Stephenson AI’s potential to change life as we know it.

FEATURE

FEATURE

32 | Opinion: Kerry Nicol

26

34

Councils on a cliff-edge Many local councils across the country are facing financial ruin, putting vital public services such as Trading Standards at risk.

Getting under the skin New legislation is clamping down on illicit cosmetic procedures that can ruin young lives — but does it go far enough?

FEATURE

FEATURE

50

54

A problem shared How a collaboration between Age UK and Trading Standards is helping elderly scam victims get their lives back on track.

CTSI Hero Awards The Houses of Parliament hosted the very best and brightest of consumer protection in a memorable ceremony in November.

The latest facts and figures, including policy work and prosecution successes.

12 | Voices from the Front Line What Trading Standards teams have been working on, and the challenges they face.

14 | Lead Officers CTSI's Lead Officer network gives an update on recent projects and concerns.

17 | Opinion: Matt Allwright

Why young people can be vulnerable too.

Trading Standards’ ‘number-one fan’ talks about her passion for the profession.

36 | Degrees of compliance

The Office for Students and NTS team up to protect students’ consumer rights.

38 | Measuring up UKAS works to boost trust and confidence.

40 | Time to talk A project to support Cornwall’s farming community in times of personal crisis.

42 | In conversation: John Herriman

CTSI’s Chief Executive talks about building the profile of Trading Standards.

46 | Eye to the future

Consumer Scotland is using data to get to grips with the challenges of tomorrow.

48 | CPPD: Single-use plastics Understanding the new legislation.

52 | Opinion: Adrian Simpson

Why getting rid of greenwashing is good for business, consumers — and the planet.

58 | Opinion: Kate Pike

Why enforcing new laws to stub out smoking for good is the right thing to do.

04 |

Winter 2024

Journal of Trading Standards WINTER 2024

ENFORCEMENT

‘Disturbing’ rise in attacks on TSOs Trading Standards professionals are experiencing a rise in verbal and physical assaults in the course of performing their daily duties, according to front line enforcement Officers. There have also been death threats and visits to Officers’ homes by criminals under investigation.

On a recent routine inspection of a shop selling illicit vapes in Salford, a colleague of CTSI Joint Lead Officer for Vapes Marsha Bell was locked inside the premises by the owner, effectively being held hostage.

Once the doors were opened, “the business owner put his hands on the back of my colleague’s head, knocked the paperwork out of his hands and physically pushed him out,” said Bell.

Bell herself has also received racist abuse and intimidation when seizing illicit goods.

According to another CTSI Lead Officer, “There has been a backlash within parts of the media and on social media against local authorities and individual Officers. There is a need to ensure that Officers are protected and anonymous.

“There have been death threats and visits to Officers’ homes as a result of work on illegal dog breeding,” the Lead Officer added.

“I’ve experienced hostility across the board — you tend to be in quite hostile situations day in, day out,” Bell said.

Officers are advised to perform dynamic risk

assessments when visiting premises, to report any incidents of abuse to managers and, if necessary, to the police. Trading Standards departments should also keep logs of incidents so problem traders are flagged ahead of future visits.

“While you’re on premises, things can change quickly —

there can be a shift in mood.

Make sure you know where the exits are and if there’s an immediate threat, remove yourself from the situation.

Your safety comes first and foremost,” Bell added.

CTSI Chief Executive, John Herriman, commented: “The disturbing increase in attacks on Trading Standards Officers is very concerning. Officers are not equipped to deal with these hostile situations as other agencies, like the police, are.

Trading Standards Officers are driven by a desire to protect the public and legitimate businesses, and we need to ensure that they are equally well protected when it comes to them carrying out their duties.”

RECRUITMENT

FSA raises enforcement capacity concerns The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has sounded the alarm about the staff recruitment challenges facing the Trading Standards and Environmental Health professions.

FSA Chair, Professor Susan Jebb, said that increasing capacity in Trading Standards was a key priority for the agency.

“Failure to recruit and train professionals to key posts can have reverberations for many years to come,” she said. “We ask governments across the UK, and others, to work with us to address these matters so that people in the UK can continue to have food they can trust, and the strong

www.JournalofTradingStandards.co.uk

reputation of British food abroad is maintained.”

Both CTSI and the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) have committed to “strategic collaboration and innovation in a bid to build sustainable professions in both Trading Standards and Environmental Health”.

Trading Standards staffing levels across the UK fell between 30% and 50% between 2008/9 and 2018/19, with more than half of local authorities not confident that they have sufficient expertise to cover the full range of Trading Standards responsibilities.

Phil Owen, Service Delivery Director at CTSI, said: “Local government regulatory services are the front line of public protection, ensuring citizens have safe food to consume and products that are safe to use. Trading Standards and Environmental Health ensure that in times of national crises such as avian flu and global pandemics, they are there to respond.

“CTSI’s own analysis, based on consultations among its membership of front line Trading Standards professionals across the country, is that the situation is at a critical juncture — if investment is not made soon

then there will be no competent Officers available to deliver these essential Trading Standards services to protect the public.”

Louise Hosking, Executive Director of Environmental Health at CIEH, said: “The health of our communities and the wealth of our economies are inextricably linked. The professionals within our sectors are the custodians of this balance, tirelessly working to protect our communities. As we navigate through economic challenges, the intrinsic value of Environmental Health and Trading Standards roles must be recognised and championed.”

(See more on page 24.)

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Journal of Trading Standards WINTER 2024

Upfront 60 SECONDS

SINGLE-USE PLASTIC

The supply and sale of certain single-use plastic items has been banned under legislation introduced to tackle plastic pollution and littering. The ban applies to businesses in England and covers a wide range of single-use items including plastic cutlery, plates, bowls, balloon sticks and certain styles of polystyrene cup and food containers.

GUERNSEY ADOPTS TS

The bailiwick of Guernsey has been brought into line with the rest of the UK’s Trading Standards rules following a vote to adopt fair trading legislation as previously recommended by Citizens Advice. The new Trading Standards Fair Trading Ordinance was enacted on 2 October and applies to the islands of Guernsey, Herm and Jethou.

SUPERMARKETS STEEP?

An investigation by consumer group Which? has found that supermarket chains Tesco and Sainsbury’s may have misled customers into thinking they are getting better value for money when using loyalty offers than they actually are. The investigation also found that some customers are being denied access to member discounts altogether.

NO BLAME NO SHAME

A ‘vicious cycle’ of shame and underreporting has led the NTS Scams Team to launch a campaign designed to take the stigma out of being scammed.

The #NoBlameNoShame campaign urges people to talk more openly about scams, and aims to create an environment in which victims feel more able to report their experiences.

06 |

ENFORCEMENT

NTS reviews ‘disruption’ strategy A paper by National Trading Standards (NTS) examining the benefits and drawbacks of different approaches to enforcement is to be published in January, with the intention of ‘starting a conversation’ about the most effective and efficient ways of tackling non-compliance.

Limited enforcement resources and backlogs in the courts are among the factors driving a potential shift towards disruption as an alternative to conventional prosecutions, said NTS Programme Manager, Colin Briggs: “NTS have had a lot of expensive and complex legacy cases that have gone on for a long time, which rightly need sorting out, but they take a huge amount of resource. If we’re not careful, the money may well end up running out, which means that new cases can't be started.

“We’re trying to start a conversation within the Trading Standards community to look at problems in the round and the best way of tackling them. It’s not always automatically best to jump down the prosecution route; there are quite effective alternatives out there that may be less costly, and quicker in terms of producing results.”

Delay tactics

Backlogs caused by the pandemic and industrial action by barristers have exacerbated delays in the criminal justice system. Legal technicalities and legislative loopholes that can arise in complex prosecutions such as fraud cases can also make it difficult for local authorities to secure convictions.

According to Steve Playle, Trading Standards Manager at

Backlogs in the courts are causing prosecution cases to pile up

the City of London and CTSI Lead Officer for Energy and Net Zero, in some cases disruption can be more appropriate and effective than prosecution. “A typical investment fraud case can take up to five years to investigate, to gather witness statements, to do the interviews and get the evidence,” he said. “You then have to wait for court dates — I’m speaking to colleagues in different London boroughs where they’ve had cases due to go to court this year, but the defence then puts in some left-field arguments which mean the trials get delayed to 2025 and beyond.

If there’s a case of fraud against elderly victims, and witnesses start dying before it gets to trial, it gets more and more difficult to keep things going.

“The whole process is timeconsuming and extremely costly and in the meantime, the offenders carry on offending.

If you get a complaint about something that’s not right, I’m a great believer in jumping in, confronting the trader and giving them advice, so they know that they’re being watched.

“There are always going to

be cases where someone’s done something so bad that they deserve to go to prison. But is it really the job of cash-strapped Trading Standards authorities to do that? Or should we hand those sorts of cases to the police, who are far more well resourced?”

Playle said that one of the most powerful weapons in Trading Standards’ arsenal is getting websites taken down: “If you take away the website, that has a certain impact on the business. It’s not the golden bullet, but it’s all about the frustration factor.”

Briggs added: “Local authorities and regional teams need to look at all the options available. Sometimes alternatives to prosecution can be more complex, or even make things worse. Everything has to be considered; it’s about assessing risk and finding the best solution.

“We’re not saying that prosecution is never the right thing, because in many cases, it still will be and there is no getting away from that. But we just want people to start thinking about some of the other areas of what you might call ‘disruption’.”

Winter 2024

Journal of Trading Standards WINTER 2024

NOWHERE TO HIDE

Trading Standards teams take action to seize illicit cigarettes and tobacco across the country ONLINE OFFENDERS

UNDER THE SINK

In November the Derby Trading Standards team found that the owner of one shop had gone to extraordinary lengths to hide illegal products, installing a kitchen counter on hydraulic legs that would raise and lower at the push of a button (pictured). Beneath it Officers found more than £10,000 worth of illicit cigarettes, tobacco and vapes.

A husband and wife who sold illegal cigarettes and tobacco via Facebook pleaded guilty in a prosecution brought

by Oxfordshire Trading Standards. When the home of Krzysztof and Ewelina Bugno was raided in 2021, Officers seized more than 44,000 illicit cigarettes and 24.5kg of hand-rolling tobacco with a street value of £20,000.

GETTING CLOSURE

SNIFFING IT OUT

Staffordshire Trading Standards seized more than 16,000 illicit cigarettes, 7.4kg of tobacco and 186 illegal vapes in a series of Operation CeCe-supported raids in October. With assistance from tobacco detection dogs from BWY Canine, Officers visited three premises and found the goods concealed in sophisticated hiding places.

Lincolnshire County Council is ramping up its efforts to stub out illicit cigarettes in the county, securing closure orders against several shops.

Closure orders make it illegal for anyone to enter a premises for up to three months and the team has found them to be an immediate and effective way of disrupting shops that sell illicit tobacco.

A MEATY HAUL

A butcher in north west London has been ordered to pay £4,020 for selling illicit cigarettes following an investigation by Brent and Harrow Trading Standards. Officers discovered thousands of packets of cigarettes behind the counter and in a storeroom. The owner gave no explanation as to why the cigarettes were being sold in a butcher’s shop.

CROSS-BORDER JUSTICE

China tops list of online complaints Online purchases from supposedly UK-operated companies which are actually based in China are currently among the most frequent problems being referred to the UK International Consumer Centre (UKICC), in addition to disrupted travel bookings and scams.

“Online shopping is at the top of the list of things people come to us with problems about,” said UKICC Contact Centre Advisor, Juanita Headley. “A lot of consumers are purchasing products from UK or US websites, www.JournalofTradingStandards.co.uk

but when you check for address information or terms and conditions, you find that they are actually in China.

“As well as problems with returns, we’ve been contacted about products where there's a significant delay in them arriving, or they never arrive at all.”

Away from online shopping, “flights is another big issue, with people not being compensated for delays and cancellations, and airlines giving information that is inaccurate”, Headley added.

However, it is important for

consumers to be pragmatic, she cautioned. “We want to manage expectations by being realistic about what they’re entitled to.

We tell people what the law says so that they're empowered, and then we give them direction.

Consumers who contact us have the law on their side — they can now name-drop us and say that they’re being supported by us.”

Some cases have been concluded satisfactorily simply because the consumer has referenced the UKICC when speaking with a trader, Headley said. “Cases have been resolved without us needing to progress them because we’ve told the consumer the right things to say and what they are entitled to.”

Despite the UK’s departure from the European Consumer

Centres Network (ECC Net), the UKICC still has strong links with its European counterparts, particularly in France. “We have a lot of cases from French consumers, and we see positive responses to them from the French side,” Headley said. “We also have good relationships in Spain, where a lot of travel booking intermediaries are based.

They’ve helped get back what UK consumers were entitled to.”

The UKICC also sees many fraud enquiries, Headley said.

“We have been helping victims of cryptocurrency and investment scams, where people have invested thousands of pounds.

They are often well-educated people with large discretionary incomes and on occasion, they end up losing it all.” | 07

Journal of Trading Standards WINTER 2024

Upfront

ROGUES' CORNER

Trading Standards teams have been taking on crooks and cowboys who prey on consumer vulnerability

PACKING IT UP

The directors of a removal company that scammed customers into paying thousands of pounds to recover their belongings have been jailed following an investigation and prosecution by Islington Council Trading Standards.

Alexander Robert Linley-Sharman and Jacob David Littlestone, directors of My Move Group Ltd, vastly inflated the agreed-upon price of removals once clients’ belongings had been stowed in the removal van. One customer was initially quoted £200 and then had to pay £2,000 to get their belongings back. Another was forced to pay £6,000 after being given an initial quote of £300.

The pair were each sentenced to two years’ imprisonment; Linley-Sharman received an extra year in prison for perverting the course of justice.

DRIVEWAY TO JAIL

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

An Essex Trading Standards investigation of a rogue builder who defrauded his victims into paying up front for work that wasn’t completed has resulted in a three-year jail sentence.

Christopher Escrader came to the attention of Essex Trading Standards in September 2019 after several of his customers in the county and the surrounding area complained about his fraudulent activities.

A rogue trader who defrauded customers into paying for shoddy driveway work has been jailed following an investigation by Falkirk Council Trading Standards.

In two incidents in 2019, Keenan Kirkwood, trading as Kirkwood Paving Ltd, deceived vulnerable homeowners into paying for poor-quality and unnecessary driveway repairs. In one case, Kirkwood made an unsolicited visit to the home of an elderly couple and persuaded them to transfer £11,500 into his account on the same day. The subsequent work was carried out to such a poor standard that a further £8,000 was necessary to pay for remedial measures to rectify Kirkwood’s mistakes.

Kirkwood pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud and was sentenced to 160 days in prison.

BLIND JUSTICE

A rogue trader who scammed several homeowners – including a blind person – into undertaking unnecessary home renovation work has been jailed thanks to action by Heart of the South West Trading Standards.

Ambrose Christopher Reilly committed the offences while under a suspended sentence for an unrelated offence of affray. He was ordered to serve a one-year prison sentence on 18 October.

ILLEGAL TRADING Image credit: Hammersmith & Fulham Trading Standards

H&F TS tackles football rip-offs Hammersmith & Fulham Trading Standards has been tackling illegal street traders on its patch with the prosecution of a trader who repeatedly sold illegal football scarves outside Stamford Bridge stadium.

Samuel Michael Wilson of Leigh-on-Sea was charged after selling football scarves without a street trading licence in February 2022 at Chelsea’s FA Cup tie with Plymouth Argyle, and again in October 2022 during a match against Manchester United.

At Westminster Magistrates Court on 4 October 2023, Wilson 08 |

was ordered to pay £3,690 in fines and costs after pleading guilty of illegal street trading.

The court case was delayed as Wilson had initially provided Officers with a false address.

Wilson had previously been convicted for similar offences in 2021, when he was ordered to pay a total of £3,061 in fines and costs.

The Hammersmith & Fulham Trading Standards team has prosecuted 11 illegal street traders over the past three years, resulting in more than £44,000 in combined fines, costs and victim surcharges.

Councillor Rebecca Harvey, Hammersmith & Fulham Cabinet Member for Social Inclusion and Community Safety, said: “We continue to work hard to stop local residents and visitors from being ripped off outside our local football stadiums by illegal street traders.

“This work is also crucial for licensed football merchandise stall holders. We will continue our clampdown on this type of matchday crime in H&F to ensure local residents, families and visitors can enjoy games and be confident they are purchasing reputable merchandise.”

Wilson outside Stamford Bridge Winter 2024

Journal of Trading Standards WINTER 2024

FACTS & FIGURES

The IPO’s Trading Standards Survey 2022-23 gathered together the numbers behind the ongoing fight against fakes

60 SECONDS

44%

of local authorities made links between illicit vapes and other forms of criminality

82% (Source: Intellectual Property Office)

of local authorities identified retail premises as the most important locations for IP investigations

£369m in criminal activity disrupted by local authorities that responded to the IPO's survey

81% 67% of local authorities said illicit cigarettes and tobacco were the most investigated products

The largest ever fraud investigation led by Essex Trading Standards, with support from National Trading Standards (NTS) and the Tri Regional Investigation Team (TRIT), has concluded with guilty verdicts, fines and prison sentences for a group of criminals who targeted elderly and vulnerable victims with a home energy scam.

The activities of Smart Save Solutions Ltd and its director Carl Smith first came to the attention of Essex Trading Standards in 2017 when it emerged the company routinely cold-called elderly people and exerted pressure-sales tactics. Essex Trading Standards brought a successful prosecution for misselling practices at the time.

Smart Save Solutions then branched out into a network of four related companies which persuaded homeowners to buy supposed energy-saving products and devices by using extensive mis-selling techniques, www.JournalofTradingStandards.co.uk

Following deadly fires caused by lithium batteries in e-bikes and e-scooters, OPSS has published resources to help consumers purchase and use the devices safely. Coroner Adam Smith was among those calling for tighter safety laws after the death of Mizanur Rahman in a fire last March. The resources are available on the OPSS website.

STORM WARNING

HOME ENERGY FRAUD

Essex fraud case success

said counterfeit clothing was the biggest problem category, after cigarettes and tobacco

E-BIKE RESOURCES

INVESTMENT

turning over approximately £6.5m in the process.

Nearly all of the victims were cold-called by telephone for a free system ‘health check’. As soon as an ‘engineer’ arrived, scare tactics and lies were used to persuade them to buy unnecessary products.

Victims were bullied into buying ‘kill switches’, being told that if they did not the Fire Service would not attend, or household insurance would be invalidated. Some of the devices were vastly overpriced, with the company buying them for £245 and selling them on for £3,500.

Trish Burls, Chair of the NTS Tri Regional Investigation Team, said: “This clearly highlights the value of partnership working and demonstrates that together we can successfully prosecute even the most complex and protracted of investigations.”

Councillor Mark Durham, Essex County Council Cabinet Member responsible for Trading Standards, said: “I would like to thank everyone involved for their efforts and am proud to see this joint investigation come to a successful conclusion.”

ASA: Whisky ads misled Misleading social media adverts for ‘whisky investments’ have caught the attention of City of London Corporation Trading Standards after a series of ads for Blackford Casks Ltd, trading as Whisky Investment Partners, were ruled by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to be misleading and in breach of the CAP code.

The City of London Corporation’s Port Health and Environmental Services Committee Chair, Mary Durcan, said: “Casks are being sold as a long-term investment because whisky takes time to mature, consumers are being told. This means that it could be years before investors realise their investments aren’t performing.

“It is vitally important to remember that whisky investments are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, which means that there is no recourse to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme if anything goes wrong.”

There has been a rise in reports of criminals preying on those affected by damage caused by storms, flooding and other bad weather, CTSI has warned.

Victims have been charged excessive amounts for unfinished or poor quality work. Lead Officer, Katherine Hart, said: “We are seeing too many cases of people being exploited by rogues.”

BSI GOES GLOBAL

The British Standards Institution (BSI) has announced a new partnership with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office designed to use international standards as a means of enhancing trade and sustainable growth in developing economies. The Standards Partnership Programme will be delivered in 11 countries and island regions.

CASE STUDIES NEEDED

CTSI Fellow Robert Grice MBE is writing a book about the history of consumer protection, and is calling on Trading Standards to aid him in his research. He said: “I am looking for examples of the most interesting cases across the decades. I want to show the impact that the Service has on society.” Please send submissions to: robertgrice50@hotmail.co.uk. | 09

Journal of Trading Standards WINTER 2024

Upfront ILLICIT PUPPY SALES

Dog breeder collared by TS An unlicensed dog breeder who pocketed more than £90,000 selling nine litters of puppies over a 12-month period has been ordered to pay the money back following action taken by Carmarthenshire County Council Trading Standards.

Deborah Thomas, of Llanddarog, had been advised of the licensing requirements on numerous occasions but continued to operate illegally.

A confiscation order under the Proceeds of Crime Act was obtained for £90,000. Thomas must also pay additional costs of £10,000 plus a £1,000 fine.

Under the Breeding of Dogs (Wales) Regulations it is illegal to advertise three or more litters of puppies from the same premises within a 12-month period without a dog breeding licence. The Licensing of Activities Involving Animals (Wales) Regulations also mean that anyone involved in the commercial selling of pets may need to be licensed.

HOUSING

NI estate agent fined An estate agent in Belfast has been fined £1,000 for breaching the Estate Agent Act 1979 and failing to provide information about a Property Redress Scheme, following action by Northern Ireland Trading Standards.

Des McGranaghan hired debt collectors in an attempt to secure his agency fee from a homeowner, despite the fact that the sale of her house had fallen through.

10 |

PRODUCT SAFETY

BTHA calls for action on online sellers Online marketplaces must face greater accountability for the products being sold on their sites by third-party sellers, the British Toy and Hobby Association (BTHA) has said. The trade body has also criticised some of the proposals contained in the government’s Product Safety Review consultation for being ‘too reactive’.

Kerri Atherton, Head of Public Affairs at the BTHA, said: “The current legal framework has a loophole, which means that online marketplaces are not responsible for making [product safety] checks for toys sold by third-party sellers. We’ve been pushing for strengthened laws for the last five years to close that loophole so the marketplaces themselves have some kind of accountability for third-party sellers.”

Atherton added that proposals to address supply chain issues are “a step in the right direction because it could help improve cooperation duties with law enforcement and require the removal of known unsafe products — but those are things that any responsible business should be doing anyway”.

The Product Safety Review consultation, which was published in August as part

Unsafe toys on the UK's streets

of the government’s ‘Smarter Regulation’ programme, said that the UK could “shift towards crosscutting hazard-based legislation for the majority of products”.

“This would have the aim of significantly reducing the need for, and quantity of, detailed or prescriptive product-specific regulations [...] Taking this approach would be expected to reduce the regulatory requirements on businesses,” the document noted.

“We were feeling quite confident that the government was going to take stronger action based on the conversations that we’d had before the Product Safety consultation came out,” said Atherton. “But we were disappointed that the proposals don’t go far enough. Proposals around greater cooperation with enforcement and the legal due care requirements are all very reactive. Once products

have gone up for sale online, it’s already too late.

“Ultimately, online marketplaces need to be taking proactive measures. The only way to do that is to make online marketplaces accountable for product safety in their supply chains. We feel like it’s a losing game with the millions of listings, as it will not be enforceable.

“We were open to the suggestion of moving towards a more ‘horizontal’ way of assessing and bringing products to market. However, we would rather be in favour of retaining legislation that is specific to toys.

We don’t feel like going towards horizontal legislation would be right for our industry.”

Atherton believes that the legislation already in place is well understood by responsible businesses. “It’s quite complex, but that shows the complexity and nuances of toys. We don't believe there’s much evidence to show that the current legislation isn’t bringing safe toys to market.

The biggest issue is supply chain routes. Tackling that in itself would make consumers a lot safer.

“This is a consultation so we appreciate the proposals are still under discussion and not final,” Atherton added.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Pirate DVD seller must pay up A London man who sold pirated DVDs has been ordered to pay a confiscation order of £216,418 in one of the biggest Proceeds of Crime cases ever brought forward by Southwark Council.

Stephen Anthony Clarke

Gostling, of Birkbeck Road, Beckenham, was originally jailed in September 2021 for operating a fraudulent online business with sales in excess of £500,000.

During its investigation, Southwark Council Trading

Standards identified 22 eBay accounts, 28 PayPal accounts and 31 bank accounts which Gostling had set up using some 30 different names. He used these to sell counterfeit products, process payment of fraudulent sales and launder the proceeds of his criminality for more than five years.

Winter 2024

Journal of Trading Standards WINTER 2024

SCAMS

ILLEGAL MONEY LENDING

Call centre conviction PoCA bites loan shark The boss of a call centre in Wales that was behind more than 53 million scam calls to people across the UK has been given a 34-month prison sentence after being prosecuted by Swansea Council Trading Standards.

Rhodri Rees, from Port Talbot, was the managing director of a company which traded under names including HES Synergy Ltd and HES Savings Audit Ltd. Automated calls promised thousands of pounds would be refunded to victims after paying an upfront fee for Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) claims. Many individuals called back to enquire about the offer

of compensation, and were later duped into parting with hundreds of pounds.

Swansea Trading Standards were alerted following initial investigations by the Ministry of Justice Claims Management Regulation Unit.

David Hopkins, Cabinet Member for Corporate Services and Performance at Swansea Council, said: “Our Trading Standards team has worked exceptionally hard to unearth this business’s dishonest behaviour and I am very pleased we have been able to shut them down and take action against all those involved.”

An illegal money lender who preyed on vulnerable people in Liverpool has been ordered to pay back £40,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act. In April 2023 Anthony Suku was sentenced to 22 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, after admitting to charges of unlawful money lending and money laundering. The case was prosecuted by the England Illegal Money Lending Team (IMLT) in partnership with Liverpool Trading Standards and Merseyside Police.

The unlicensed loans activity took place between March 2018 and July 2021, when

investigators executed a warrant at Suku’s home and recovered a notebook containing details of loans issued and collections, as well as other paperwork.

Financial Investigators for the IMLT estimated that Suku was receiving an annual income of £52,000 from his criminal lending, which had affected at least 26 people.

Head of the IMLT, Tony Quigley said: “We will continue to prosecute those who lend illegally. Anyone who believes they have been the victim of a loan shark is urged to contact the confidential hotline on 0300 555 2222.”

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Trading Standards enforcement and prevention activities are safeguarding people and animals THE EXTRA MILE

UNHAPPY HOUNDS

A pet food manufacturer which failed to ensure that its products were safe and free of bacteria including salmonella has been prosecuted by Neath Port Talbot Trading Standards & Animal Health.

Happy Hounds (Wales) Ltd bought waste meat and offal from sources including slaughter houses and reprocessed it to sell as raw dog food.

Two community care workers in Suffolk who stepped in to protect a 101-year-old woman who had fallen prey to a clairvoyance scam have been praised for their initiative and good work. Sally Mills and Paul Watts (pictured) reported their concerns to Suffolk Trading Standards, who helped to put support and prevention measures in place.

www.JournalofTradingStandards.co.uk

AGE CONCERNS

REPORT A ROGUE

Tenants in London are being urged to use the Report a Rogue Landlord or Agent tool to inform Trading Standards teams across the capital about breaches of consumer protection law, including the Tenant Fees Act 2019.

The tool enables tenants to sound the alarm about problems with things like unfair evictions.

(See more on page 18.)

North Lanarkshire Council Trading Standards has been clamping down on underage sales, with a recent series of test purchases revealing a failure rate of 24%. Officers assisted by young volunteers carried out 42 test purchases of age-restricted products, resulting in three sales of cigarettes and seven sales of vapes to people under 18.

LIVESTOCK BAN

Two farmers who left dead animals in pens with live calves (pictured) and failed to provide adequate feed and bedding have been given lifetime bans from keeping livestock following a prosecution

by Staffordshire County Council Trading Standards Animal Health team.

Charles Gibson and Alison Bailey pleaded guilty to multiple welfare offences. | 11

Journal of Trading Standards WINTER 2024

Upfront

VOICES FROM THE FRONT LINE

ANTONY SHORE TRADING STANDARDS OPERATIONS MANAGER, STAFFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL What has been your main area of focus over the past six months?

There are hard-to-reach groups in our community who are susceptible to becoming victims of scams and rogue traders. To reach them, we have developed a number of techniques to improve communication. First, we have improved interaction with all our Community Safety Partnerships around the county. We have also developed a scams awareness email newsletter that we send out each month to residents highlighting scams, both nationally and locally.

We have built an online call blocker application form that is quick and easy to use; most of our referrals, including from partner

“We are increasingly finding that traditional enforcement tools are ineffective”

12 |

agencies and concerned relatives, now come to us via this online form. Working in conjunction with Staffordshire Police’s Smart Alert allows us to select specific communities that we are keen to promote our call blockers to.

Another key project is Operation Jupiter, which protects renters of private accommodation. The market is increasingly populated by low-income groups whose access to other housing options may be limited.

As part of the project, we have identified a number of local letting agencies that are not registered with one of the recognised client money protection (CMP) schemes, and have provided advice and guidance to improve compliance.

Where agents are found to be ignoring the legislation and putting client’s money at risk we have taken proportionate enforcement measures.

Are there any emerging issues?

We are experiencing a huge surge in reports of the sale of illicit vapes. Of concern is the apparent rise in the supply of vapes to children. Particularly worrying is that we are seeing vapes which are labelled with attractive words and pictures that entice children to try vaping.

Being a large rural county, animal health and welfare is a significant part of the work we do. We are seeing a greater number of

animal welfare issues as a result of the current economic climate.

A recent animal welfare case has involved the county council taking 250 calves into possession due to poor welfare and farming practices. The cost of taking animals into possession whilst awaiting court procedures is expensive (costs of £200k are not unusual) and this falls to the local authority to pay. This creates a significant financial challenge.

Finally, imported goods continue to raise issues for the service, including dangerous unsafe products and imported foods that contain illegal ingredients. We are increasingly finding that traditional enforcement tools are ineffective; we need to find new innovative approaches or we are in danger of continuously running to catch up.

What are the obstacles to tackling these issues?

Backlogs in the courts are leading to delays in trials and sentencing, preventing cases being brought to conclusion in a timely manner.

Much of the legislation which provides us with the tools we need to carry out our work was written at a time when trade was carried out in a totally different way. We need better enforcement tools and legislation that reflects current consumer markets and is fit for purpose; without it we face significant challenges in our ability to do our job.

Trading Standards teams across the country are tackling multiple challenges, including scams, tenancy issues, allergen awareness and youth vaping.

JESSICA MERRYFIELD TRADING STANDARDS OFFICER & TSEM FOOD STANDARDS GROUP CHAIR, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL What has been your main area of focus over the past six months?

At Nottinghamshire Trading Standards, we have been working with colleagues within the authority and other partners to identify and support our most vulnerable residents. This crucial work has helped us to support prevention activities across the county, especially to those residents who are most affected by the impacts of the cost-of-living crisis.

Alongside this, I have been working with colleagues across the country to call for a legal definition for both Pre-Packed for Direct Sale (PPDS) and vegan foods. The lack of definitions and clarity in these areas is causing confusion and inconsistency in the approaches to compliance, impacting businesses, regulators, and consumers. This does not aid consumer choice for the food-hypersensitive consumer,

Winter 2024

Journal of Trading Standards WINTER 2024

“The Greater Gwent survey identified that businesses are still getting it wrong. This is a serious concern”

does not give businesses a level playing field to operate in, and does not enable regulators to enforce, support and advise.

Are there any emerging issues?

Like numerous colleagues across the country, I am seeing a rise in imported foods which are non-compliant, illegal and/or unsafe. The creation of freeports is an additional concern, as there is a tangible risk that even more imported foods will be placed on the market, potentially without sufficient checks. Our ports play a vital role in preventing these goods from being placed on the market. Once they are distributed inland, dealing with non-compliant goods is much more difficult, posing a potential threat to businesses and consumers.

What are the obstacles to tackling these issues?

In my role as Trading Standards East Midlands (TSEM) Food & Allergens Group Chair, I sit on the national Food Standards and Information Focus Group, which helps me to raise the concerns of TS colleagues. As professionals, we need to keep raising key issues to those with the opportunity to make changes, to protect consumers and businesses.

The lack of resources to tackle the issue of imported foods on a national basis could be eased by amendments to the requirements in food law; if the responsibility for the individual labelling and safety of imported foods rested with importers and wholesalers, it would remove the burden from individual SMEs who may not have the resources to do so.

www.JournalofTradingStandards.co.uk

DILYS HARRIS (pictured) & MATTHEW BARTLETT SENIOR TRADING STANDARDS OFFICER, CAERPHILLY COUNTY BOROUGH COUNCIL & CHIEF INSPECTOR OF WEIGHTS & MEASURES, TORFAEN COUNTY BOROUGH COUNCIL What has been your main area of focus over the past six months?

Following the pandemic, a riskbased approach to delivering official controls to address a backlog of food standards premises interventions has been adopted, with the aim of realigning inspection programmes in accordance with the Food Law Code of Practice.

This won’t happen overnight.

In Caerphilly we have also recently been audited by the FSA, which is always a busy and stressful time!

Are there any emerging issues?

Food Standards Officers within Greater Gwent have reported concerns regarding non-compliance with food allergen legislation.

Despite years of ongoing advice, many businesses who supply non pre-packed food are still failing in their statutory duty to provide clear, accurate food allergen information to consumers.

Working in collaboration, an extensive investigation to examine the ways in which food estab-

lishments record, retain and provide food allergen information was undertaken. Officers carried out assessments of businesses’ overall food allergen management control systems.

Despite food allergen consumer protection legislation being in law for almost a decade, the Greater Gwent survey identified that businesses are still getting it wrong. This is a serious concern.

What are the obstacles to tackling these issues?

There is a continued need for local authority food regulatory services to focus on allergen compliance, as failure to do so has the potential to pose a serious risk to public health.

Resource is without question an issue for all of us as we field competing priorities.

The survey data showed a lack of staff training remains an issue, as well as the inaccuracy of written matrix documents, the generic use of precautionary allergen statements without assessment and a complete lack of knowledge of Food Business Operators’ responsibilities.

As a tool to help address these issues, Food Standards Officers are urged to promote the Greater Gwent Food Group multilingual allergen resource (available at tradingstandards. uk/practitioners/ food-allergen-resource).

FAKIR OSMAN HEAD OF HEART OF THE SOUTH WEST TRADING STANDARDS What has been your main area of focus over the past six months?

One of our main focuses has been around budgets — it is extremely concerning that this year has seen several Section 114 notices being issued by councils. Cuts to services mean real cuts to the workforce and subsequently the work Trading Standards is able to do. (see more on page 26).

Are there any emerging issues?

There’s lots of anecdotal evidence about the prevalence of vaping among children, and it’s concerning how inexpensively and easily those under 18 can buy vapes.

What are the obstacles to tackling these issues?

Vapes are everywhere and cheap to buy. To overcome this, we need tighter legislation from government — if we don’t get this there will be a new generation of young people addicted to nicotine.

If you would like to be featured in Voices from the Front Line, please email editor@ journaloftradingstandards.co.uk

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Journal of Trading Standards WINTER 2024

Reporting in Animal Health & Welfare

Civil Law

Activities: Campaigning for changes to animal welfare legislation, notably the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (applicable to England and Wales).

Cases of Avian Influenza have been identified in backyard flocks. We have also been involved in work on the Animal Penalty Notices Act 2006 Guidance in England.

Notes: Court delays mean that taking animals into local authority ownership is costing hundreds of thousands of pounds – local authorities do not have rights to treat or sell animals.

Activities: Participated in CTSI working group on the DMCC Bill and responded to consultation, saying that provisions in the Consumer Credit Act 1974 should remain primary legislation. New guidance was issued by the CMA in May on students as consumers in higher education settings.

Notes: CTSI should monitor discussions on the increased use of code and AI over traditional terms and conditions in 'smart contracts'. We should ensure these contracts remain legally compliant and officers remain up-todate in their knowledge.

eCommerce

eCrime

Activities: Had productive discussions with the Department for Business and Trade on the DMCC Bill. A new consultation has been issued, with e-commerce examples being the inclusion of fake reviews as a banned practice and the extension of Online Interface Orders (‘takedowns’) from solely CMA to other enforcers, including LATSS. Notes: Removal of the ‘sunset clause’ from the REUL Bill is welcome, but we must ensure that all Trading Standards laws that come from EU sources are considered properly by government.

14 |

Activities: Monitoring the progress of the Online Safety Bill as it passes through parliament.

Notes: Amendments to the Online Safety Bill are currently under consideration by the House of Lords, including on aspects such as age verification. Issues around artificial intelligence-related content also are of significant topical interest.

CTSI's Lead Officers produce reports every six months on their areas of specialism, looking at current and upcoming threats and challenges, as well as recent activities and initiatives with which they have been involved

Consumer Advice & Education

Activities: Featured on the BBC discussing fake goods sold on secondhand trading platforms.

Visited 10 Downing Street as part of the Joint Fraud Taskforce management board; this was in a Trading Standards capacity as well as on behalf of the Scams Team.

Notes: Promoting Young Consumer Influencer helps to reinstate relationships lost due to lack of Trading Standards activity.

Areas such as travel, illicit dog breeding and tenancy issues could all be supported by consumer education messages.

Consumer & Product Safety

Activities: Took part in the RoSPA National Home Safety Committee; DEFRA UK Chemical Stakeholders Forum; Electrical Safety First Product Safety Committee; OPSS National Product Safety Group; and OPSS Consumer Reference Panel.

Notes: While the dropping of the REUL sunset clause is good news, the decision to allow the use of the CE mark instead of the UKCA could possibly lead to consumer detriment and confusion in market surveillance.

Doorstep Crime & Scams

Education & Training

Energy & Net Zero

Explosives & Petroleum

Activities: Participated in Qualifications Governance Review and rewrite of the Regulations Qualifications Panel. Worked with North East Trading Standards Association Heads of Service to develop training for students compiling portfolios.

Notes: There have been increases in the number of applications for extensions or deferments due to exceptional circumstances. Many applications related to lack of support from employers. There is a need to ensure continuity of knowledge on the Qualifications Panel.

Activities: Participated in CPP Group on Home Improvements and Energy Efficiency. Spoke to COSLA, who have been undertaking interesting work in the renewables sector to identify problem traders. Met with OPSS to discuss electric vehicle infrastructure.

Notes: There is a potential slight shift in government thinking on the net zero journey, signalling that achieving net zero should not be putting pressure on individual finances.

Recent government auctions of offshore wind generation licences attracted no bidders.

Activities: Participated in a consultation on cold-calling for investments and financial products, and contributed to the CTSI Manifesto.

Took part in regular media interviews. The cost-ofliving crisis still attracts exploitation, especially in the rental, energy, and retrofit industries.

Notes: Increased use of generative AI and deepfakes will create new scams. The Bank Refund/ Payment Service Review is under way, but is seemingly meeting with considerable opposition from the financial industry.

Activities: Corresponding with Scottish Government on the timescale for new Scottish fireworks legislation, which will impact Trading Standards in Scotland.

Advised CTSI members on various aspects of Explosives and Petroleum legislation and enforcement issues.

Contacted OPSS to request guidance on CE marking of fireworks.

Notes: The Petroleum (Consolidation) Regulations 2014 are overdue for review – they should have been reviewed by October 2019.

Winter 2024

Journal of Trading Standards WINTER 2024

Fair Trading & Pricing

Food & Nutrition

Activities: Drafting amendments and holding consulting meetings for the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill. Also took part in filming BBC One's Defenders UK and drafting CTSI's response to proposed banning of financial product cold-calling with other Lead Officers.

Notes: There are many consultations upcoming or in progress, including on the Package Travel Regulations, and it is expected that the Consumer Contracts (ICACS) Regulations will be reviewed soon.

Activities: Contributed to CTSI Manifesto discussions and responded to Food Standards Agency consultations on developing a modernised food hygiene delivery model in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Did not agree that Trading Standards could do lower-risk food hygiene inspections due to lack of Trading Standards resources.

Notes: There has been a large increase in the import/sale of American food and drink not complying with UK labelling rules and often containing unauthorised or excessive amounts of additives.

Intellectual Property

Legal Metrology

Activities: CTSI and the Intellectual Property Office are developing an IP Constituency Certificate Award. Attended IP Crime Group meetings, Advisory Board, and Enforcement Board Delivery Group.

Chaired National Markets Group meeting, have been involved in the UNECE Working Party on Regulatory Cooperation and Standardisation Policies.

Notes: Greater Manchester Police's Operation Vulcan has been targeting counterfeiting in the Cheetham Hill and Strangeways areas, with a considerable impact on the supply chain.

Activities: Participated in a CTSI joint policy project with the UK Weighing Federation. Other stakeholder groups were identified, with the project's aim being to raise the profile of legal metrology and show how lack of national-level strategic purpose prevents weights and measures benefiting the UK economy.

Notes: The national regulator has been largely withdrawn from engagement with CTSI lead officers and the National Expert Panel for over 12 months, without information. This leaves multiple issues unresolved.

www.JournalofTradingStandards.co.uk

Hallmarking

Activities: Involved in the Touchstone Award and the support of the jewellery industry at the CTSI Conference.

Notes: Issues are a lack of resources, expansion of counterfeit crime and fraud through illegal practices on the internet. There is a struggle between competing priorities to effectively police the marketplace.

Motor Industry

Activities: Had discussions with the Department for Transport about changes to their data provision, as well as the effect of changes to the MOT regime.

Drafted guidance for NTS/ACTSO on use of QR codes for vehicle pricing.

Notes: The cost-of-living crisis is causing volatility in a heavily price-led market. Chinese imports are starting to appear on UK roads, and there is ongoing concern over EV battery disposal and safety in event of fires.

Holiday & Travel Law

Illegal Tobacco

Activities: Involvement in the Department for Transport consultation on the future of the Air Travel Organisers Licence (ATOL). Provided input to the 'Wish you were clear' CTSI policy paper on the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018.

Participated in the CAA Air Transport Insolvency Protection Advisory Committee (ATIPAC).

Notes: It is currently too easy for scammers to ‘sell’ fraudulent travel services online, as well as via Facebook, Instagram and X/Twitter.

Activities: Serving as Project Lead on Operation CeCe for NTS, managing the project across England and Wales. Responded to consultation on track and trace, assisted HMRC in review of illegal tobacco strategy, development of guidance for the track and trace tobacco sanctions and training session for Trading Standards.

Notes: Currently monitoring the take-up of referral opportunities for civil sanctions – if these are not taken up, we will need to know what the barriers are to this.

Property & Lettings

Vapes

Activities: We have been working with DLUHC on the Renters’ Reform Bill, especially on powers and obligations. More media engagement is expected once publicity ramps up. CTSI needs to bring discussion forward on whether landlords are businesses — this affects other businesses dealing with them who may have to provide consumer rights when contracting work.

Notes: In Scotland the Register of Sasines is being closed in 2024 and there are no amendments in place to use the Land Registry in its stead.

Activities: Responded to media enquiries and government consultations on vaping-related issues. Spoke with DHSC and DEFRA about the proposed ban of disposable vapes, and met with a government minister.

Carried out training for Trading Standards Officers and businesses around the UK. Notes: The date of a general election in 2024 may affect the timetable for the passing of the relevant legislation through parliament.

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Journal of Trading Standards WINTER 2024

Upfront FRAUD

Jail sentence for ‘greedy’ rogue trader A rogue builder who used the money he scammed from his victims to fund lavish holidays and shopping trips for himself and his wife has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison following an investigation by Suffolk Trading Standards.

Alan Middleton employed a number of ruses to defraud his customers, including falsifying supplier invoices and using a fake VAT number. Having told them he would only work on one property at a time, he undertook multiple projects which were poorly carried out or left unfinished. He also used a forged Federation of Master Builders insurance document to suggest he was insured to perform works.

Middleton and his wife Katie

Alan and Katie Middleton

enjoyed holidays to Gibraltar and Italy, regular visits to London and shopping trips. It is calculated that Middleton received around £592,000 from victims. One contract was worth £380,000 plus £70,000 VAT, while another was for £210,000 with VAT of £45,000; he was not VAT-registered.

On 6 November at Wood Green Crown Court Middleton was sentenced to a total of

Poetry corner Washington Youth Council won the CTSI Young Consumer Influencer of the Year Award 2023 for their poem about the dangers of loan sharking. For more on the Hero Awards, see page 54.

four years and six months imprisonment, and disqualified from being a company director for five years. He and Katie Middleton also pleaded guilty to two counts of fraudulently obtaining a mortgage for themselves worth £400,000. For those offences he was jailed for 12 months, to run concurrently.

Katie Middleton received a nine-month sentence, suspended for 18 months, and was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £140.

Graham Crisp, Head of Suffolk Trading Standards, said: “Middleton is a greedy man who thought nothing of exploiting his customers, many of them using their life savings or taking out loans to pay for the work to achieve their dream home.

Not So Canny Annie

Little nana Annie We thought she was dead canny Out on the streets Giving kids sweets I was struggling with debt My house was under threat She said she could assist And add me to her list I only asked for fifty I thought it would be nifty Then she offered double And I knew I was in trouble

Members of the Washington Youth Council perform the poem

16 |

It was going quite well A week later my life was Hell Last week I owed a few But I checked and it timesed by two I paid back a day late And she charged an insane rate

“He was utterly unscrupulous and did whatever he could to extract money from them. This included falsifying invoices to claim £170,000 in VAT despite not being registered, forging insurance documents to mislead people into thinking their properties were protected, and endangering lives by incorrectly stating building control was not required for projects when this was in fact needed.”

Councillor Andrew Reid, Suffolk County Council’s cabinet member for Public Health and Public Protection, said: “Middleton is now reaping the consequences of his actions and I hope his sentencing goes some way towards providing justice for those he exploited.”

She sent her son around He threatened to put me underground He came by late at night Gave the kids a fright This was so unreal Not part of our deal Put our windows through I don’t know what to do I don’t want to be a grass For fear I’ll be harassed Where can I turn?

Is what I need to learn Checked all the websites Learned about my rights Met the Illegal Money Lending Team In hopes to end this awful dream Ring 0300 555 2222 And like me they can help you

Winter 2024

OPINION

Matt Allwright Journalist and presenter of Watchdog and Rogue Traders

Life lessons

Students have long been expected to settle for second-best — even when it comes to their consumer rights

Across the student experience, it’s clear that the consumer rights that many of us rely upon just don’t apply

www.JournalofTradingStandards.co.uk

I’ll never forget the unadulterated joy of watching The Young Ones, the anarchic 80s comedy showing grimly hilarious extremes of student life. Four incompatible housemates in a rented house which conspired on a weekly basis to destroy them, via either an evil landlord, toxic fridge, rotten staircase, or filth and mould with occasional flashes of ancient wallpaper. This (minus explosions and talking hamsters) was what I expected and, for the most part, received as a student when my turn came in ’88 — a grotty house in Manchester with overflowing drains. But I paid nothing for tuition and received a grant which covered basic living expenses. I survived, and left university penniless, but also debtless.

Endless rounds of beans-on-toast left marks on my dressing gown, but not on my finances.

How different the financial reality is now for students.

A life-long burden of debt only makes sense as a trade-off for hopes of a more prosperous future, a bet laid early, and repaid over decades with interest. And what do they get?

Well, if a recent example I saw in Bristol is representative, then ’80s squalor persists. For an annual outlay of £70,000, the students had secured crumbling walls, a decrepit kitchen and excrement on the floors. And this was on the day they moved in. The landlord had promised refurbishment over the summer, but little or nothing occurred. Bristol, like many other cities across the country, is a seller’s market. If you don’t like it, maybe you’d rather commute from Gloucester. Across the student experience, it’s clear that the consumer rights that many of us rely

upon just don’t apply. During the pandemic, courses which cost thousands were altered radically, opportunities offered were reneged upon, and many scholars who complained or demanded refunds were given short shrift, revealing uni contracts written to give colleges carte blanche.

So where is regulation and enforcement?

Well, if the crisis in the private rented sector reveals a blind spot we’ve developed as a nation, student housing takes that to the level of an astigmatism. Whether it’s accommodation or education, it almost feels like we’ve agreed that students don’t deserve any better, that they sold their consumer rights the first time they went clubbing in fresher’s week. That attitude ignores the fact that their money is real, as good as anyone’s, may take a lifetime of hard work to repay, and entitles them to the same protective legal framework that we take for granted.

Student life should be a liberating, carefree time. For many, their homes and courses are providing a short, sharp lesson in injustice, with a long repayment plan attached. Far too often it’s a miserable introduction to independent living for our Young Ones, who have been through so much in recent years, and who have many challenges ahead. In the context of mental health and wellbeing, it’s no laughing matter, and as a nation we must do better. ● For more on housing, see p18; for more on students’ consumer rights, see p36.

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Cover Story

By Helen Nugent

NO PLACE LIKE HOME

THE PRIVATE RENTED HOUSING SECTOR IS IN TURMOIL, WITH RISING RENTS AND INFLATION HITTING TENANTS AND LANDLORDS ALIKE. COULD MUCH-VAUNTED BUT DELAYED NEW LEGISLATION BRING SOME STABILITY? Few people have been spared the vicissitudes of the cost-of-living crisis, and this is particularly true for renters.

Average private rents in the UK have rocketed by more than quarter since the beginning of the pandemic and will keep on climbing, according to a recent report by the estate and lettings agent Savills.

Some have dubbed the property rental market as ‘broken’ and it’s not hard to see why. Decent rental homes and apartments are in short supply and rising mortgage costs have priced many out of the housebuying market. Savills estimates that the

18 |

typical tenant household is now spending 35.3% of their income in rent. In London, that figure is 42.5%.

It’s been difficult for landlords too, with endless interest rate hikes adding to the cost of buy-to-let mortgages. There’s also been a rise in the number of people not paying their rent, often due to pressures on household budgets thanks to increased costs of fuel, energy and food. In addition, changes to capital gains tax allowances will mean that landlords looking to sell their properties could be squeezed financially.

Measures included in the Renters (Reform) Bill are intended to address some of these problems, not least the issue of tenant evictions. The Bill would mean the scrapping of Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions, which has long been called for by campaigners. Currently, Section 21 of the Housing Act 1998 allows landlords to demand that tenants move out with two months’ notice without having to disclose a reason for the eviction. That leaves renters feeling powerless to contest evictions and makes it hard to establish a stable home environment.

Figures released by the Ministry of Justice earlier this year showed that court proceedings for no-fault evictions in England have reached their highest level in six years. Between April 2023 and June

Winter 2024

Journal of Trading Standards

WE DISCOVERED QUITE QUICKLY THAT THIS ISN’T SOMETHING THAT TRADING STANDARDS OR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH OR HOUSING CAN ENFORCE IN ISOLATION

2023, some 7,491 no-fault evictions were brought before the courts. During the same period, bailiffs conducted 2,228 nofault evictions, up 41% year-on-year.

The new Bill would require landlords to use a Section 8 notice which insists on specific grounds for eviction such as rent arrears or antisocial behaviour. Unlike Section 21, the landlord is not guaranteed to take back possession of the property.

Hope on the horizon?

With 11 million private renters and 2.3 million landlords in England alone, the Renters (Reform) Bill could offer better protection and peace of mind. But it is not a done deal, with delays raising the prospect of the government running out of time to enact the legislation.

www.JournalofTradingStandards.co.uk

The Renters (Reform) Bill had its first reading in May 2023. In addition to the abolition of Section 21, its measures include comprehensive possession grounds so landlords can recover their property if they wish to sell it or where the tenants are at fault; stronger protections against backdoor eviction, ensuring tenants can appeal excessively abovemarket rents designed to force them out; a new Private Rented Sector Ombudsman; the creation of a Privately Rented Property Portal for landlords, tenants and local councils; and the right for a tenant to request having a pet in the property.

The Bill has now completed the Committee Stage, meaning that MPs have scrutinised it. Next, it will move onto the Report Stage and the Third Reading, before moving on to the House of Lords.

By the government’s own admission, nearly a quarter of private rented homes do not meet basic decency standards.

But the Bill is still grinding through parliament following years of pledges by successive Conservative governments to reform the rental sector. The housing charity Shelter said recently that one in ten private renters risks losing their home this winter due to potential eviction notices and rent arrears.

Nevertheless, Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, has said that the ban on no-fault evictions will not be implemented until action has been taken to improve the court system. This decision has angered parliament’s all-party Levelling Up,

Housing and Communities Committee.

In a letter to Gove, the chair of the committee, Labour MP Clive Betts, wrote: “The Government has had four years to ensure the legal system is fit to handle the consequences of the abolition of Section 21. It is therefore difficult for us to understand the Government’s lack of urgency and transparency around court reforms.”

Trading Standards steps in So, where does this leave Trading Standards? To properly understand the impact of the upcoming legislation, it’s necessary to look back to the Tenant Fees Act 2019, which cemented Trading Standards’ position at the centre of housing and tenancy issues.

Alison Farrar is Operations Manager of the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team (NTSELAT), as well as being CTSI Lead Officer for Property and Lettings and Consumer Education. She says that the Tenant Fees Act (which only covers England) was designed to make sure there were no hidden fees for tenants.

“That’s partly what we do in Trading Standards, isn’t it? We make sure that everything is fair, clear, honest and upfront, and you know exactly what you’re getting. You know how much it’s going to cost and when you’re going to pay it, and all that information is there for you.”

Farrar says that, when the Tenant Fees Act came in, it was clear that, for the first time, Trading Standards should be

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Cover Story

By Helen Nugent

looking at the contracts between tenants, landlords and agents.

“But what we discovered quite quickly is that this isn’t something that Trading Standards or Environmental Health or Housing can enforce in isolation. And this is because of the changing nature of the way that tenancies and property investments work. Now you’ve got these huge portfolio landlords, you’ve got people doing property investments and buying properties all over the country.

And you’ve got agencies helping to manage property or helping to find tenants. Some of them are clearly portals but some of them are very clearly property managers. These are huge businesses.”

The changing landscape for enforcement officers across local authorities has been further complicated by the influx of bigger companies, virtual offices in the larger cities, and registered companies which have never traded, says Farrar.

“That means that all our expertise in Trading Standards comes into play.

We deal with businesses who try and hide from the law, we deal with businesses who phoenix so they can shut down and open up another company.

And it’s not just for tax purposes, it’s for other obligations as well. It’s about leaving the debts behind. It’s about leaving their obligations to their customers behind.”

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Decent Homes Standard Looking ahead to the new rental reforms, Farrar highlights the quality of rental properties. She says: “The Renters (Reform) Bill talks about introducing a new Decent Homes Standard in the private rented sector, which means that all private rented properties would have to reach a certain level for different standards. And that’s a good thing for tenants.”

However, she says there are some concerns for Trading Standards if the Decent Homes Standard comes in.

“Does that mean the construction industry will be affected in some way?

It could open the floodgates for rogue traders and scams. It could also mean that prices rise. So, creating even more demand for all private rented sector properties to be brought up to a certain standard could mean a massive influx of the kind of issues that you see with poor and dodgy workmanship. We’ve seen it before with government schemes. When there’s a good scheme, there’s always a scam alongside it.”

Meanwhile, James Munro, Senior Manager at NTSELAT (and Chair of CTSI), says that another challenge around the Renters (Reform) Bill will be how the enforcement works and who does it. “It is Housing and Environmental Health Officers who will be the primary enforcement officers in this particular piece of legislation,” he observes.

Journal of Trading Standards

CERTAINLY, IF THE BILL IS ENACTED IN ITS CURRENT FORM, IT WILL MAKE THINGS EASIER FROM AN ENFORCEMENT PERSPECTIVE “Trading Standards are in there, they do have a role, but it’s a limited role when you compare it to things like the Tenant Fees Act.” He adds: “We’re there to try to protect consumers as best we can, but also to support and help legitimate businesses.

We’re there to support local authorities.

“And then we also act very carefully as a backstop enforcement function, where we can take enforcement action if a local authority can’t or won’t get involved. But that’s got to be managed very carefully.

Because clearly, we’ve got limited resources. And we cannot be taking over or making up for any lack of resources in a local authority area.”

Munro also points to the Renters (Reform) Bill and landlord redress.

“It would effectively identify all of the landlords in England and the properties they own. And that is one of the big gaps at the moment in terms of enforcement.

I think it would be of huge assistance in actually working out who is in the sector and who is involved in which properties. A lot of the time, investigation time is taken up in establishing who the landlord is and how many other properties they have because the first thing you need to look at is whether or not that particular behaviour is replicated in other areas.

“Certainly, if the Bill is enacted in its current form, it will make things easier from an enforcement perspective.”

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Cover Story

By Helen Nugent

% , 7 491 41 11m 1 in10 NO-FAULT EVICTIONS BROUGHT BEFORE THE COURTS BETWEEN APRIL AND JUNE 2023

YEAR-ON-YEAR RISE IN PRIVATE RENTERS NO-FAULT EVICTIONS IN ENGLAND

Better together According to Munro, the fundamental issue for Trading Standards regarding the Renters (Reform) Bill will be collaborative working with Housing and Environmental Health colleagues. He says that at the moment the approach is rarely joinedup, partly because of the way that the structure of local government works, where Trading Standards sits within those differing local authority structures, and varying levels of communication between different council departments.

“As the lead enforcement authority, at the moment we’ve got two big pieces of work going on regarding improving that collaboration. Firstly, that’s between housing authorities and Housing Officers.

Secondly, it’s between Housing and Trading Standards using the national intelligence database which, traditionally, has only been available to Trading Standards. Now, with this work that we’re carrying out with local Housing and Environmental Health Officers, they’ve got access to it and can share that intelligence.

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PRIVATE RENTERS RISKS LOSING THEIR HOME THIS WINTER

“This should help in a number of ways. It should help Trading Standards be more aware of what’s happening within the Housing and Environmental Health section. And it will also benefit Housing Officers to find out what Trading Standards has been doing.”

He continues: “The other project about improving collaboration with housing authorities started in September this year.

We’re overseeing that particular piece of work which is running for 18 months.

That’s basically trying to replicate the Trading Standards regional working, and introduce that to housing authorities so they have access to the intelligence systems, and they have access to advice, guidance and support.”

A London initiative In London, there has been very good collaboration when it comes to housing issues, Munro points out. But that’s not the only thing happening in the capital.

London authorities have recognised that people don’t necessarily think

of Trading Standards when they need to complain about housing issues.

Instead, they approach the local Housing department or contact organisations like Citizens Advice or Shelter. But a reporting line established by the Mayor of London has provided a new model.

Stuart Radnedge, Regional Coordinator at London Trading Standards (LTS), explains. “Right at the start of the year, we booked a call with the Mayor’s Office. We knew they had this ‘Report a Rogue’ tool [the Rogue Landlord Checker and Report a Rogue initiative launched in 2017, enabling the capital’s 2.7 million renters to report rogue landlords and letting agents more easily]. We asked them if they’d like to collaborate, and it was a really, really warm reception in terms of them wanting to hear what our plans were.

“Our idea was to get Housing colleagues working better together with Trading Standards. Trading Standards enforce the Tenant Fees Act, but Housing obviously has the obligation to investigate complaints.

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Journal of Trading Standards

“What we were saying was that we needed to pull these people together.”

Working with the Mayor’s Private Rented Sector team, LTS launched the project in September 2023. LTS hopes that the tool will encourage tenants to report problems with things like unfair evictions, prohibited charges or fees, deposits, and the behaviour of landlords and agents. LTS is optimistic that this will bring about change given that, over the past six years, the Mayor’s Report a Rogue tool has been used more than 6,000 times.

In October 2023, of the 33 unitary authorities in London, nine agreed to take

WHILE WE HAVEN’T GOT THE RESOURCES TO DEAL WITH EVERY SINGLE COMPLAINT, IF WE DON’T KNOW ABOUT IT, WE CERTAINLY CAN’T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT www.JournalofTradingStandards.co.uk

part. From January 2024, that number will increase to 22.

Radnedge says: “The intention, if it goes well, is to attempt to roll it out across all the parts of London.

“We’ve also had conversations with Citizens Advice to better understand their process in terms of when complainants are contacting them and saying, ‘I’ve got a problem with housing’. We said to them quite openly, ‘what do you do?’ They told us they don’t have the manpower to deal with housing complaints.”

Instead, housing issues are often referred to Shelter who, in turn, aren’t in a position to prioritise various tenants’ issues unless they relate directly to homelessness.

Radnedge and his team were told that, of 1,000 calls made to Citizens Advice, only two people call back to follow up their complaint or seek an update.

“There should be a complaint mechanism where you can go directly to Trading Standards. But those days went a long time ago because everything’s done

at a distance. However, Citizens Advice also have been very pragmatic and they’ve changed their advice specifically tailored to this London project. So, if you’re in London, you will have a different route on the website in terms of where you’re sent to. And the same with Shelter as well. Reflecting this project, they’re both referring to the Mayor’s reporting line now.”

Radnedge adds: “If we can show that this approach works, maybe people can start having this conversation in terms of creating a reporting line.”

Farrar agrees that establishing a reporting line is important, as is making sure that the complaints received achieve two key objectives. “The first one is that the person who’s calling gets the advice they need, and that they can go ahead and help themselves and work out what to do next. That’s vital. But the second thing is just as crucial. It’s about making sure that Trading Standards or the local authority know about that complaint. Because while we haven’t got the resources to deal with every single complaint, if we don’t know about it, we certainly can’t do anything about it.

“So that intelligence, knowing about those numbers of complaints, what they are, how they work, what they look like, how many of them there are, and how they get resolved at the end, is crucial intelligence for local Trading Standards services. And to be able to do that for the whole of the London region means that they can get a really clear and true snapshot of what’s going on.

“It will also mean that, with some high-level stats, we’ll be able to use them to identify patterns and issues.

That helps us as a team when we consider what guidance needs writing and what further projects need to happen, and that might help us to understand what’s actually going on out there — because what happens in London might be happening in other areas.” l

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Enforcement

By Richard Young

Doing more with less Budget cuts, an increased workload and an anti-regulation political agenda are among the factors that have undermined enforcement capacity, say Trading Standards experts CTSI Lead Officers have welcomed the publication of the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) latest ‘Our Food’ report, which paints a stark picture of the challenges facing public protection bodies such as Trading Standards, with staff recruitment and retention proving major hurdles to maintaining a robust system of enforcement (see page 5).

The report, which includes data from the FSA’s ‘Local Authority Capacity and Capability’ research, gathered views from current and former local authority enforcement officers working in Trading Standards, Environmental Health and Port Health, as well as education providers and professional bodies. It found that not enough people are completing relevant qualifications to enable the effective enforcement of official food and feed controls within local authorities.

The FSA identified a widespread lack of awareness of Trading Standards and Environmental Health careers, with insufficient resources available to attract new recruits, particularly among school leavers.

It also found that the complexity of the qualification system is difficult for prospective students and local authorities to navigate, in addition to creating challenges around the practicalities of study, including financial and time constraints.

In response to the report Corinne Lowe, CTSI Lead Officer for Food Standards, says: “Local authority budget cuts over the past several years have led to a severe reduction in the resources to train up new Officers. These budget cuts have also led to the loss of many qualified

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and experienced Officers, and an increased workload for those that remain.”

CTSI Lead Officer for Education, Alexandra Connell, agrees with Lowe’s assessment. “There are significant issues around recruitment and retention, and this is exacerbated by an increasingly ageing demographic within Trading Standards,” she says. “There is currently a huge amount of knowledge and experience among our older members, without which it will be even harder to train new people within the profession whenever we do manage to recruit.”

Apprenticeships could prove an effective means of bringing new blood into the Trading Standards profession, believes David Pickering, also a CTSI Lead Officer for Food Standards. “The apprenticeship scheme may help get more Officers into the service,” he says.

“However, doing this will need support and for smaller services that may be difficult. A national strategy would be a positive way to address the issue.”

Selling TS One of the knock-on effects of decreasing budgets has been fewer opportunities to sell the Trading Standards profession to a wider audience — including potential new recruits. According to Connell, “Reduced resources have meant that Trading Standards have had to pull back from carrying out educational talks in schools and universities. Thus our profile demonstrating what a great career can be had in Trading Standards has diminished.”

Pickering suggests that a negative view of regulation in certain political circles has only made things worse. “It would

help if the government stopped portraying regulatory roles as a hindrance rather than part of a well-functioning marketplace,” he says. “They need to stop being negative about the roles because it makes it less attractive to potential recruits.”

“A reduction in funding for Local Authority regulatory teams has contributed to increased workloads and a reduction or complete stop to promoting the profession externally,” adds Lowe.

Inevitably, a shortage of new recruits has placed a strain on the existing workforce, creating added pressures that make staff retention a real challenge.

That increased workload — caused in part by Brexit, and in part by the Covid pandemic, according to the FSA report — has pushed many experienced staff towards early retirement.

“As we shrink as a workforce, we have to become involved in more tasks that were previously done by colleagues,” says Pickering. “We aren’t good at saying we can’t do things because we no longer have the capacity!”

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“This will be compounded year on year until we are recruiting more into the profession than are retiring,” says Connell.

According to Lowe, “Brexit has led to an increased workload for officers.

Businesses who import and export food and animal feed to and from Europe now have to comply with additional requirements, which has led to an increase in requests for business compliance advice, and more work for Officers having to check for legal compliance of imported and exported food and animal feed.

Connell adds: “The pandemic has seen a large rise in the amount of new small businesses operating from homes, all of which require business advice and guidance. There is also a large disparity between local authorities as to how business guidance can be offered; whether it is free, or paid for, or just signposting towards information. This can impact the level of compliance through lack of knowledge or understanding.”

“Wilfully turning a blind eye to the

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realities and impact of leaving the EU by the government means that very real issues aren’t being acknowledge or addressed,” says Pickering. “The portrayal of ‘red tape’ in a negative light also has an impact on Officers who generally do their best to support businesses to become compliant.”

Providing that support benefits businesses, and thereby the broader economy, “but this isn’t being recognised by central government, especially when it comes to funding,” Pickering adds.

Don’t oversimplify To address these challenges, the report suggests more efforts to promote regulatory and enforcement careers (as CTSI has been doing through its ‘Anything but Standard’ campaign), and greater collaboration between bodies with regulatory responsibilities and education providers. It also raises the possibility of simplifying qualification requirements.

On the latter point, Connell urges caution: “We need to be careful that simplification of qualification does not

lead to dilution of the standard of the qualification,” she says.

The FSA’s report notes that most local authority enforcement staff saw their roles as important and felt proud of their contribution to public safety Although the and wider society. government It is a view with occasionally say which Pickering how valuable we concurs: “Trading are, they don’t Standards is still a seem to appreciate really interesting we are in decline and varied role, in terms of resources allocated and to some extent this is recognised to deliver services within most local authorities. But although the government occasionally say how valuable we are, they don’t seem to appreciate we are in decline in terms of resources allocated to deliver services.”

“We need to raise awareness of what we do, to attract people to work in Trading Standards, especially the subject areas of food standards and animal feed,” says Lowe. “But we also need to have the resources to be able to promote the work we do, and the resources to do the job.”

Andrew Stephenson, also CTSI Lead Officer for Education, comments: “Raising awareness of Trading Standards within the wider context of enforcement is vitally important so that we are seen as the go-to agency for food and feed activities.”

Crucially, Connell believes, that means promoting the value of Trading Standards within government and local authorities themselves: “We need to raise the profile not only externally to aid recruitment, but also internally to raise awareness of the importance of the work we do and how it relates to every aspect of daily life.” l

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Council finances

By Helen Nugent

COUNCILS ON A CLIFF-EDGE Many local councils are facing financial ruin, with further cuts to already beleaguered public services like Trading Standards a very real prospect. What can be done to pull them back from the brink?

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Journal of Trading Standards

When Birmingham City Council issued a Section 114 notice in September, effectively declaring bankruptcy, and handed over control to governmentappointed commissioners, it laid bare the deep-seated problems facing many local authorities. Numerous other councils have made similarly worrying announcements, including Nottingham, Thurrock, Croydon, Woking, Somerset, and West Berkshire, ranging from Section 114 notices to admissions of potential ‘financial meltdown’ and serious concerns over their ability to meet their legal duty to balance the books.

All told, the deficit across English councils totals £4bn over the next 18 months. That’s according to the Local Government Association (LGA), which said in a letter to chancellor Jeremy Hunt that council budgets were “under pressure like never before”.

Meanwhile, a recent report by the County Councils Network (CCN), which surveyed 41 county and unitary authorities in England, found that the total projected overspend for CCN member services this year will reach £640m. In addition, the District Councils’ Network (DCN) predicts a total funding shortfall of £550m for district councils in 2023-24, and £610m in 2024-25.

Then there are the statistics from UNISON. Its research, published in its report Councils Under Pressure, shows that 144 councils are at least £10m short of their planned spending requirements,

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while 15 are as much as £40m adrift. The trade union says that the situation will only get worse. It estimates that the cumulative funding gap for local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales will soar to more than £7bn by 2025-26.

Root causes It’s a bleak picture. But why are councils in such a precarious position? Causes stem from a maelstrom of financial factors fuelled by, among other things, spiking inflation, wage rises, high energy costs, huge increases in demand for services such as adult and children’s social care and homelessness support, and central government’s austerity programme. The LGA says that, since 2010, there has been a 27% real-term cut in core spending power. It’s no surprise that councils are scrambling to make ends meet. And announcements in the Autumn Statement that amount to deep cuts to public spending present further challenges for local councils.

“No councils are immune to the risk of running into financial difficulty and others have already warned of being close to also having to issue Section 114

Giving local government the ability to charge what is right and fair for the level of service that we provide in regulatory areas would really help us

notices themselves,” says a spokesperson for the LGA. “Councils’ ability to mitigate these stark pressures are being continuously hampered by one-year funding settlements, one-off funding pots and uncertainty due to repeated delays to funding reforms.

“The government needs to come up with a long-term plan to manage this crisis which must include greater funding certainty for councils through multi-year settlements and more clarity on financial reform.”

Councillor Elizabeth Dennis is finance spokesperson at the DCN and Leader of North Hertfordshire Council. She says: “I think it’s obvious that, when you look across the entire public sector, there is a cliff-edge we are rapidly approaching in terms of our financial capabilities versus the work that we are expected by central government to deliver.

“The cost of our statutory services, such as waste collection, have increased exponentially in recent years. And we are being expected to meet those costs for our residents with ever decreasing resources from central government.”

The DCN anticipates that councils will make savings amounting to 9% of their budgets, where possible through efficiencies, but potentially leading to workforce cuts and service reductions.

Dennis says that any further scaling back of district council services would be disastrous, but councils are facing impossible choices.

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Council finances

By Helen Nugent

“If you think about our role and the expectation on councils and local authorities to reduce pressure on other parts of public services, then things like leisure centres are mostly contracted out and cost us a lot of money. Those are not statutory services. If we stop providing leisure services, then what pressure is that going to put on the NHS?” She adds: “If we’re in a place where we have to seriously consider whether it’s viable for us to provide leisure centres, whether it’s viable for us to maintain playgrounds and parks and green spaces — because these are not statutory services, these are purely discretionary — then what impact is that going to have on people? Also, our residents don’t pay council tax just to receive statutory services.”

Like the LGA, Dennis wants reform to central government funding, as she explains. “Why are our budgets under a lot of pressure? Because the fees that we set for things like licensing are mandated by central government and actually don’t cover the cost to us of doing a lot of the work that sits behind assessing applications and taking enforcement action.

“If we had genuine devolution that allowed local authorities to be able to assess the appropriate level of fees to cover our costs, and to help build a slight reserve cushion should we need to take a serious and costly action, potentially in Trading Standards or licensing enforcement, then that would help us to go some of the way to managing and maintaining the level of service that will be needed in that area.”

She continues: “So, giving local government the ability to actually charge what is right and what is fair for the level of service that we provide in those regulatory areas would really, really help us. Give us the power and the flexibility to manage our own finances, trust us to actually run the area that we know best. And we will flourish and we will be able to deliver the added value that the government is asking for.”

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£4bn

the deficit facing English councils over the next 18 months

£610m funding shortfall projected for district councils in 2024-25

144

councils at least £10m short of their spending requirements

£7bn

projected funding gap for local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales by 2025-26

Impact on Trading Standards While a statutory obligation which forms part of councils’ public protection responsibilities, Trading Standards is not immune from the current funding crisis, as the LGA acknowledges: “We have long warned of the impact of government funding reductions on councils’ ability to provide local services, including Trading Standards,” says the spokesperson. “It is vital local government is put on a sustainable footing.

“We know from the various pieces of work we have done in recent years that confirm the value councils and councillors place in the role played

by Trading Standards in protecting consumers and ensuring a level playing field for businesses.”

UNISON agrees. Local Government Officer at the trade union, Matt Egan, says: “Councils’ current financial problems expose the damage that has been done to public services through years of Conservative cuts. Essential services can’t run on thin air and more cuts and job losses look inevitable unless the government intervenes with significant extra funding.

“Trading Standards benefits the economy, protects the interests of

Local councils are forced to prioritise numerous vital public services

legitimate businesses, and keeps the public safe. And they are particularly important during a cost-of-living crisis when people are more likely to turn to unscrupulous loan sharks, be tempted by illicit goods and are at greater risk of being ripped off by rogue traders.”

In previous years, UNISON has said that cuts to Trading Standards services are putting the public at the mercy of unscrupulous individuals and businesses, including loan companies, money lenders, scammers, and counterfeiters.

Budget cuts have led to falls in levels of Trading Standards activity across the board, including scheduled inspections, enforcement visits and prosecutions.

The prospect of yet more swingeing cuts from cash-strapped councils is extremely worrying. CTSI Chief Executive John Herriman says: “This is our biggest challenge. I think everybody’s aware, because of local authority budgets and the fact that Trading Standards’ money isn’t ring-fenced in the way that other funding into local government is.”

In 2023, it emerged that Enfield Council was planning to reduce the London borough’s Trading Standards service from four officers to one. As a result, the Trading Standards Manager

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Journal of Trading Standards

A mother and daughter take part in a UNISON march against public sector cuts

resigned in protest. It meant that Enfield Council risked no longer having a functioning Trading Standards service. At the time, CTSI warned that this would endanger the borough’s 330,000 residents and encourage criminal behaviour.

According to Enfield Council, the reduction of the Trading Standards team from four to 1.5 posts was a decision made as part of its budget review which was agreed in March 2023. A spokesperson for Enfield Council told the Journal of Trading Standards that it is “maintaining its Trading Standards team and will continue to protect residents and local businesses by ensuring a fair and safe trading environment”.

The spokesperson added: “However, due to the ongoing budget challenge faced by all councils thanks to austerity, inflation and interest rate rises, we have had to make difficult structural changes to the team. We continue to urge the government to give councils the funding they need to invest in vital frontline services.”

Evidence base Herriman says that what has happened in Enfield is “dreadful”. He believes that

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CTSI’s challenge is “to raise awareness of the important role that Trading Standards plays locally, through the branch networks and others, to make sure that people realise that you can’t tackle youth vaping for example unless you have the right level of enforcement activity. That’s about presenting the evidence to both national and local government to highlight the level of risk that is there, and which is increased if services are cut in any way, shape or form.”

Local authorities are between a rock and a hard place, Herriman believes.

“That’s why it’s important to campaign on a national level to try and identify where we might get injections of funding, like the £30m that’s going to go into three agencies, including Trading Standards, for vaping and tobacco enforcement.

Tobacco enforcement is key because it’s about trying to get new money in. By doing that, we’re highlighting the

By not having enforcement activity at a community level, in effect it legalises low-level criminality because the criminals know they can get away with stuff

importance of Trading Standards more generally, and hopefully that protects the services at the local level.

“There’s another dimension here, which is the engagement we’ll be doing over the next several months with local government, the LGA, Welsh LGA, and others, around the manifesto that we’re developing.

“The key theme of that manifesto will be around workforce development, and that’s all about highlighting to local governments the critical role that Trading Standards plays, and the risks that they will be increasing if they decide to make any sort of cuts.”

Herriman says focusing on evidence is key. As such, CTSI is watching very carefully what’s going on in Enfield to identify whether that is causing further problems there or in neighbouring boroughs.

“What happened in Enfield — it’s happening elsewhere as well, but Enfield is probably the most visible example — is that by not having enforcement activity at a community level, in effect it legalises low-level criminality because the criminals can then get away with stuff, and they know they can. And that’s the serious risk here.”

Meanwhile, Dennis at the DCN believes that, moving forward, Trading Standards and the role of licensing and enforcement officers is likely to become more important with some of the legislation currently working its way through central government. But she’s not optimistic that ministers will do anything to help.

“Do I think that this government understands the value of district councils, the role that we play? And do I think that they will support us going forwards in continuing to meet the needs of all local communities? No, because I’ve not seen it historically. I’m not seeing it in the legislation that is coming through. There are amendments that were cross-party to recent legislation that would have given us greater powers to serve our communities in a more meaningful way.

And they were rejected by government.” l

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OPINION

Duncan Stephenson CTSI Director of External Affairs

Fake it till you make it Artificial intelligence looks set to change the world as we know it, with innovative new approaches to enforcement, business — and scams I’d like to use my column in this issue to dive into a fascinating topic that’s been in the media a lot recently — the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the UK’s regulatory landscape and how it will affect our profession, consumers and business.

AI is no longer a sci-fi dream. It’s here, it’s real, and it’s about to unleash significant changes in society and the wider economy. From supporting more effective e-commerce, assisting in areas such as underage sales through facial recognition, and even bringing about a digital transformation in legal metrology, AI will undoubtedly bring benefits to the Trading Standards profession. However, it also brings with it unprecedented ethical, legal and practical challenges.

At its heart AI is a branch of technology that enables a computer to think or act in a more human way. Access to data and algorithms are at the heart of a computer’s ability to learn — so called ‘machine learning’.

Reliance on data is one area where AI is causing a stir, particularly in relation to privacy and data protection. Our personal information is a hot commodity, and AI systems thrive on this data to learn and improve. The UK’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has given us more control over our data, but challenges remain: how do we regulate AI’s use of personal data without stifling innovation?

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Then there’s the issue of bias in AI algorithms. These smart systems learn from the data they’re fed. But what if that data is biased? Imagine AI in hiring processes, mortgage approvals, or criminal justice systems making decisions based on biased data — it’s a recipe for disaster. The UK is grappling with how to ensure fairness and prevent discrimination in AI-driven decision-making.

Going phishing From a consumer protection point of view, one of the darker sides of AI is the massive contribution it could make to scams.

As this technology evolves, so do the strategies and capabilities of scammers, making it easier for them to exploit unsuspecting consumers.

One prominent area where AI’s impact on scams is evident is in phishing attacks. Scammers use AI-powered tools to analyse and craft highly personalised and convincing emails or messages which can replicate the tone, language, and even writing style of a person known to the recipient, making it challenging to distinguish between genuine and fraudulent communications.

AI-driven chatbots and voice synthesis technologies have made significant strides in replicating human conversation patterns and voices. Scammers can exploit these advances to create fraudulent

customer support bots or to mimic voices in phone scams, making it harder for individuals to discern the authenticity of the interaction.

AI algorithms are also being employed to analyse and exploit consumer behaviour. They can collect and process immense amounts of personal data from social media profiles, online transactions and other sources to create highly targeted and convincing scams tailored to specific individuals. This data-driven approach allows scammers to craft more believable narratives, increasing the success rate of their fraudulent activities.

Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis recently highlighted concerns around the rise of deepfake technology. Deepfakes are AI-generated manipulations of audio, video or images that appear From a consumer incredibly realistic protection point of and authentic. view, one of Scammers can use the darker sides deepfakes to create of AI is the massive misleading content contribution such as videos it could make impersonating to scams

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individuals, or alter the context of a conversation, leading to fraudulent activities or damaging reputations.

Playing catch-up The fast-paced nature of AI development poses a challenge for regulatory bodies. Scammers adapt quickly to new technologies, exploiting loopholes and weaknesses before they can be addressed by regulations or security measures. This agility allows fraudulent activities to evolve rapidly, posing a constant challenge for authorities and law enforcement agencies to keep up.

Consumer awareness and education about these evolving scamming techniques will be crucial, but responsibility also falls on technology companies, policymakers, regulators and enforcement agencies to implement robust security measures, develop AI-driven fraud detection systems, and establish effective regulations to curb the rise of AI-enabled scams.

The UK, like many other countries, is trying to strike the right balance between fostering innovation and protecting the public interest. It’s like walking a

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tightrope — maintaining a thriving tech ecosystem while ensuring ethics, fairness and accountability are considered.

I recently attended an AI summit organised by the British Standards Institution (BSI), and it was clear that at this early stage, the development of globally recognised standards is the main area of focus. While regulation and an accompanying regulator or watchdog will also be necessary, the challenge for regulators will be keeping on top of this rapidly advancing area.

Elsewhere, the EU appears to be ahead of the curve. The EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act 2023 sets a framework for regulating the development and use of AI. The Act outlines rules and regulations intended to govern AI systems and their applications across various sectors and categorises AI systems based on their level of risk. It distinguishes between unacceptable risk AI systems (such as those used for social scoring by governments); high-risk AI systems (like those used in critical infrastructure, healthcare, law enforcement); and lower-risk AI systems.

The focal point of the Act revolves around the regulation of high-risk

AI systems. These are AI applications deemed to have a considerable impact on individuals, society, or specific sectors. For such high-risk systems, the legislation imposes strict requirements, including conformity assessments, data quality, documentation, human oversight, transparency, and accountability measures.

The Act stresses the importance of ensuring the transparency and explainability of AI systems. It mandates that users be informed when they are interacting with AI, allowing people to make informed decisions and understand when they are dealing with an AI-driven system.

It also emphasises the need for human oversight in high-risk AI applications.

Like any complex legislative framework, the Act also faces challenges and debates.

Critics argue that the regulations might stifle innovation and place a heavy burden on businesses, especially startups and smaller enterprises. However, given the huge risks presented by AI, it is only a matter of time before the UK’s regulatory landscape catches up.

We are still at an early stage, but the expectation is that there will be a thousand-fold increase in this transformative technology in the next five years. We will be holding a plenary session at CTSI’s annual Conference in June 2024 on this very topic.

Now if you are still reading this, to illustrate the impact of AI, around 70% of my article above has been created using generative AI. I have edited it and peppered it with a few additional facts and figures, but it demonstrates how helpful AI can be in supporting us to do our jobs — the question is to what extent that assistance could ultimately replace the human it is intended to support. l

| 31

OPINION

Kerry Nicol JoTS Editor-in-Chief and CTSI Policy and Campaigns Executive

Trading Standards’ biggest fan The work being done on the front line of Trading Standards is backed up by passion and dedication behind the scenes As I celebrate a milestone birthday the realisation dawns on me that I have spent more than half of my life at CTSI — and I can honestly say that if I could go back I wouldn’t change a thing.

The admiration I have for the Trading Standards profession has grown each year that I’ve been at CTSI and I would even put my neck out and class myself as your biggest fan.

I’ve been lucky enough in my time at CTSI to work across different teams at head office and experience nearly all of the work streams that keep the Institute thriving. I feel I am well placed to say that your Institute is in very safe hands. But I must be honest in saying that I have never felt as at home as I do now in the Policy team. For me this is where the magic

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happens. This is where we see what is coming down the line, where we really see the challenges that you all face and how we can amplify our voice and presence with our policy messaging.

I sit as the secretariat for CTSI on the All Party Parliamentary Group on Consumer Protection, and I’ve been lucky enough to oversee Evidence Sessions in Parliament on key issues like the challenges around online marketplaces and the supply chain.

Over the past few years I have seen our profile and exposure grow. CTSI has become an authoritative voice in key conversations that are affecting society — such as the widespread use of vapes by children, the unsafe products that flood online marketplaces, and concerns

around food safety and standards. These are all big issues that we have campaigned hard to raise awareness of and make the concerns of Trading Standards heard at a national level. We have more influence than ever, the result of sitting around the right tables and contributing to the right conversations. This says a lot about our leadership, and CTSI is striving to make sure the outstanding efforts of the profession are recognised, with the ultimate aim of the UK being a safe place for consumers to live and for honest businesses to thrive.

Key highlights In my policy role in 2023 my focus was on several key consumer issues. Most recently we campaigned for a legal definition for vegan food (how does that not exist already?!). CTSI also built a coalition of organisations that shared our concerns about the Retained EU Law

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We have more influence than ever, the result of sitting around the right tables and contributing to the right conversations

(Revocation and Reform) Bill, which was set to see thousands of pieces of important legislation revoked at the end of the 2023.

We made sure the repercussions of this were noted in Parliament through peer briefings and parliamentary debates.

It felt such an achievement when the government announced the scrapping of the sunset and assured us that these important pieces of legislation would remain in place.

It is more crucial than ever to make the case that Trading Standards is a vital resource. If I was in charge of your budgets the sky would be the limit, but all I can do is strive to promote the fantastic work that you do day in and day out, and try to get you even a small part of the recognition that you deserve.

When people ask me what I do, I’m proud to say that I work for Trading Standards. It’s too complicated to explain over a coffee (or preferably a glass of prosecco) what CTSI is and how that relates to Trading Standards. So I simply say that I’m part of the profession. I may not hold a qualification that says

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I’m authorised to carry out weights and measures or food safety inspections, but I class myself as an honorary Trading Standards Officer.

Loud and proud When you see my name pop up in your email inboxes, I apologise in advance as I am likely asking you for something. But I can assure you I’m asking for the right reasons. It’s because I want to sing and shout about the amazing work you are doing on a local and national level.

As I am writing this I am gearing up for the Annual Hero Awards, which is my favourite time of the year, and in my opinion the best event that we hold (sorry Conference). By the time you read this the Hero Awards will be all done and dusted for another year (see page 56). But I already know it will be a fantastic event, celebrating the successes of individuals and groups who deserve untold amounts of recognition for their contributions to consumer protection — after all that is the reason we are all here.

In my time at CTSI I have been lucky

enough to work with some of the very best from our profession, individuals who have inspired me to always be the best that I can be and to put the needs of the profession at the forefront of everything that I do.

I started my career at CTSI under the safe stewardship of Ron Gainsford, a man that every single one of you will know and respect. Ron helped me to gain my core skills of always maintaining professionalism and doing everything to the highest standards possible. Short cuts have always been a no-go for me, and if something is worth doing then it needs doing right.

When I look back over the years I remember key people who have influenced me along the way and are no longer with us, such as David Templeton and Brian Smith. These individuals left an impression on me with their passion and proactive approaches towards issues that the public really care about.

And then we move on to our network of lovely Lead Officers, who have supported me over the years on more occasions than I can mention in just one article. As a profession we are extremely lucky to have these highly qualified people representing us in the media, in meetings with government and in forums that help to shape the landscape in which we operate.

We couldn’t do what we do without you all – so please let me extend my thanks and gratitude to every single one of you.

Thank you for making my last few decades so fulfilling — and I look forward to joining you for the next one. There is still much work to be done! ●

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Legislation

By Richard Young

Getting under the skin

Illicit cosmetic procedures can disfigure faces and ruin lives. New legislation goes some way to address the problem — but significant hurdles remain Following the introduction of the Botulinum Toxin and Cosmetic Fillers (Children) Act 2021, it is an offence for businesses in England to administer Botox or dermal fillers to people under the age of 18.1 The legislation was introduced amid concerns about the physical and psychological harm such procedures can cause to young people who fall prey to unscrupulous, unregistered and often elusive businesses.

The legislation places new responsibilities on Trading Standards to clamp down on illicit practitioners — who often operate via social media — and is supported by a combined £1.4m in annual funding which local authorities can access through the Department for Health and Social Care.

Ashton Collins is Director of Save Face, a government-approved register of accredited practitioners who carry out non-surgical cosmetic treatments.

Her organisation was among those who lobbied for the legislation to be introduced, and through its network of registered clinics provides support

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to those who have been harmed by procedures gone wrong.

“The main problem is with fillers,” she says. “In the entire time that we’ve been gathering patient-reported complaints, we’ve only had two or three complaints relating to Botox treatments of under18s, whereas for dermal fillers it’s much higher — into the hundreds. The risks involved are great, both in terms of mental and physical impact.

“Consequences of dermal fillers going wrong can include blindness, permanent tissue death, infections, lumps, bumps, nodules and other unsightly outcomes.

These can be very distressing for anybody, but especially for a child who has gone into this thinking these are norisk beauty treatments — because that’s how trivialised they are amongst that age group — and they’re going to look like whichever reality TV star or influencer they look up to.

“We’ve seen a lot of vascular occlusions, and they are really serious.

When the dermal filler has been injected poorly, it can compromise the blood

supply, and it blocks the blood vessel.

When that happens, the filler needs to be dissolved quickly in order for the blood supply to return.”

Taking the initiative One of the Trading Standards services taking steps to address the problem is operated by the Bracknell Forest and West Berkshire Public Protection Partnership.

In the summer of 2023 Officers conducted a series of tests to ensure that local businesses were aware of, and complying with, the law. Senior Trading Standards Officer Heather Fleming explains: “It was a fairly new area to us — obviously historically we’ve done underage sales, so this fits in alongside that. We wanted to get a picture of what was out there — we were doing it as potential enforcement but mainly intelligence gathering.”

Fleming and her team called up 37 local businesses and arranged to make bookings for their ‘daughter’, requesting that the appointments be out of school hours. “The point was for the business to ask how old are they, what’s their date

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You can see how quickly this starts to spiral. A teenager could spend £99 on a lip filler and then it turns into an absolute nightmare

of birth?” Fleming says. “It’s an offence to book an appointment as well as being an offence to actually do the procedure.

We adopted a light approach and in the end, we only had three business who were prepared to book an appointment without question or any further request for information. We then wrote a letter to all of the businesses providing links to the Business Companion website guidance, as well as information about the legislation itself and a reminder that it is now in force.”

The businesses that failed the test purchases will receive visits and further checks that they are complying.

As Collins points out however, many of the irresponsible practitioners across the country provide no business address, meaning that tracking them down in the event of a problem can be easier said than done — and enforcement letters are likely to be ignored even if they do find their target. “People who are willing to offer treatments to underage teens are, as you’d imagine, quite unscrupulous,” she says.

“They’re not healthcare professionals,

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they’re often not insured, and they’re often mobile, so they don’t have fixed business addresses. When these poor girls reach out to them and say, ‘I’m in pain, my face is swollen or bruised,’ they’re told that it’s to be expected and should be fine in a week — obviously, that’s not the case. The girl becomes more and more distressed, and the more they try to reach out to the practitioner, in almost every case that we’ve managed, they block them.

“These young girls are then left to try and solve the issue with their parents who are furious because often they’ve had these treatments done without their knowledge or their consent, and they then have to navigate their way to find help.

“More often than not, they’re turned away from NHS services because they’re not familiar with these treatments, they don’t provide them themselves, and they don’t stock the drugs needed to reverse the effects.

“The victim then has to try and find another private practitioner, which again is challenging because they don’t want to treat a child. There are no clinical records, so they don’t know what filler has been used or where it’s been injected.

You can see how quickly this starts to spiral. A teenager could spend £99 on a lip filler using their birthday or Saturday job money and then it turns into an absolute nightmare.”

Social pressure Much of the damage caused by these illicit procedures originates on social media — either from the pressures of living up to unrealistic beauty standards that many teenage girls are faced with, or from direct advertising by the practitioners themselves. “It’s a hotbed for unscrupulous practice, both for under-18s and in general,” says Collins. “We’ve been going since 2014 and in that time, we’ve

helped over 15,000 members of the public who’ve fallen into the hands of unsafe practitioners, over 80% of which are nonhealthcare providers that operate only on social media. They often use illegitimate products purchased from places like China or India because they’re cheap, and they don’t have to have prescriptions for them.

There are hundreds of these operators at large in the UK.” To get a better grip on the problem, Fleming advises Trading Standards teams to work with their Environmental Health and Public Health colleagues, who may have records of local practitioners.

“Environmental Health licenses and checks up on businesses that provide things like acupuncture, skin piercing and tattoos, some of which also provide these cosmetic procedures,” she says.

“And be aware that there’s specific enforcement funding available through the Public Health route.”

It is clear though that much still needs to be done to address the problem, both from a practical enforcement point of view and in terms of tighter regulation.

As Collins says, “Because this law only applies to England, some people will hop across the border to Scotland or Wales for these procedures. Unfortunately though, in many instances, there is no need for them to even travel because people are still operating illegally in their area.

“The legislation clearly states that it is the responsibility of businesses to age check everybody — that needs to be far more embedded into their practices.

But because they’re unregulated and they operate like ghosts with no fixed address — for Trading Standards, how do you even contact them?” l 1. Registered medical practitioners with appropriate training may still administer cosmetic fillers or botulinum toxin to patients aged under 18 as part of a necessary medical treatment.

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Students’ consumer rights

By Richard Young

Degrees of compliance

Trading Standards has been brought in to ensure that students embarking on university life are protected from misleading claims Education is an expensive business.

With university tuition fees costing up to around £9,000 per year, in addition to the costs of necessities such as accommodation, course materials and living expenses, most students will graduate with significant debt that they will be paying off for years to come. For young people heading to university for the first time, the optimism of starting a new chapter in life can fade quickly if, after the excitement of freshers’ week has worn off, they realise they are not getting quite what they paid for.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent regulator for higher education in England. It exists to ensure that students are supported in accessing and progressing through higher education, that they receive high-quality academic experiences, and that their rights are protected while they study. I In 2023 the OfS published ‘Protecting students as consumers’, an insight brief examining the challenges facing students.

Nike Gustave, Compliance and Student Protection Manager at the OfS, explains:

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“We have two main areas of focus as outlined in our strategy for 2022-25: first, on quality and standards, and second, on equality of opportunity. We’re seeking to ensure that students receive the good-quality higher education they were promised by their provider, and that their interests as consumers are protected.”

NTS partnership In November 2022, the OfS entered into a collaborative partnership with National Trading Standards (NTS), under which potential consumer protection breaches by higher education providers can be referred and investigated. These include unfair terms and conditions in student contracts; false claims to have degree-awarding powers; and misleading advertising by ‘essay mills’ (organisations that allow students to commit academic fraud by commissioning written work).

Michele Manson, Business Team Manager at Buckinghamshire & Surrey Trading Standards, is coordinating that NTS partnership work. “I would consider students to be a group of consumers

who are potentially vulnerable,” she says. “They’ve just left home, some have travelled to a new country with English not as their first language. They are vulnerable not just in relation to the contracts for their education, but also their accommodation, and they may not be as financially aware, or as aware of scams — there are certainly some scams that specifically target students.”

Gustave agrees. “One of the things we are acutely aware of is the power dynamic and the significant imbalance between students and their higher education providers, who are autonomous organisations. Students may be vulnerable in the sense that some providers are not protecting their consumer rights and we sometimes see that providers have contracts which contain unfair terms,” she says.

“Students pay a significant amount of money for their courses, so it’s right as a regulator that we require providers to meet their obligations to students under consumer law. We try to make sure there is balanced information that students can

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Students pay a significant amount of money for their courses, so it’s right that we require providers to meet their obligations

access, and they can compare courses on a like-for-like basis.”

The OfS has already referred several matters to NTS, relating to terms and conditions that are not clear, intelligible and unambiguous; unfair charges; and terms that seek to limit a provider’s liability. One referral related to an unregistered provider.

Manson says: “The main issues were around the wording of contracts, and ensuring they are understandable and accessible to students. Occasionally we come across conflicting terms, or terms that don’t make sense.”

In May 2023 the CMA updated its ‘UK higher education providers – advice on consumer protection law’ guidance, which forms the basis for much of the work being done in this area. The document, which is available on the CMA’s website, gives an overview of the relevant aspects of legislation — specifically, the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges)

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Regulations 2013 and the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

It also gives information about proscribed practices, and notes: “The advice is particularly important given the extent to which higher education providers’ funding comes directly from students […] Consumer protection law is an important aspect of a higher education provider’s relationship with students, together with the existence of a supportive learning and pastoral environment within an academic community.”

Brought to book The Covid pandemic significantly disrupted higher education, with many students isolated in digs or halls of residence and joining classes remotely.

As in so many aspects of life, almost four years on, the lingering effects of that disruption can still be felt. “One of the things we expect higher education providers to provide is information about what study actually looks like; the mode of study and the blend of remote learning versus actual time in classrooms,”

Gustave says. “They also need to think about how the student experience aligns with what they’re promoting and advertising — things like places of study, information on lecturers, access to libraries and other facilities, class sizes, and the types of support students have access to.

“The key thing is that all of this is regarded as pre-contract information. It is material information which students are relying on, and they’re using that to inform their decisions. It’s really important that it is accurate and, if there are any changes to a course, it is important that they are drawn to students’ attention in a timely manner.”

Although the OfS has no powers to determine if a provider has breached consumer law, its partnership wih NTS provides a route for enforcment action to be considered. “We have always had a relationship with enforcement bodies so that areas of poor practice which adversely impact students’ consumer rights are addressed,” Gustave says.

“Where we see poor practice, Trading Standards can liaise with those providers to address the harm and ensure compliance with the law.”

An additional benefit of those referrals — and any regulatory actions which result — is that the outcomes can set a precedent which could help iron out future problems. “We can consider the case for publicising the findings made

by Trading Standards. This may provide more clarity to the sector on these issues,” Gustave says. “Ultimately only a court can decide if the law has been broken, and there is currently limited information on how enforcement bodies interpret clauses used by providers.

Publicising these findings will increase visibility which should in turn strengthen compliance with consumer law and ensure that students’ rights are protected.” l

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Sponsored feature

Measuring up

UKAS has long been an important enabler of consumer and business confidence, and is behind many of the services Trading Standards relies upon. Now it wants to hear from you UKAS, the accreditation body for organisations that provide certification, testing and calibration services in the UK, has a fairly simple underlying objective with vast implications: it aims to instil confidence and integrity in the systems and processes which underpin virtually all aspects of consumer and business activity. That encompasses everything from energy-efficiency products to animal feed and food, from weights and measures to product safety. And that puts UKAS firmly within the consumer protection landscape, complementing and supplementing the work of Trading Standards.

Richard Collin, UKAS External Affairs Director, explains: “We assess conformity assessment bodies for their integrity, impartiality and competence to do their job. We’re not a regulator, but we are critical to the assurance provision within the UK and, as such, we’re all about providing trust and confidence in the products and services that we all rely upon.”

Trading Standards has a vital role to play in ensuring that UKAS can continue its work effectively — and UKAS is keen to benefit from its expertise. “Trading Standards, regulation and accreditation are all part of the consumer protection landscape in the UK, and there’s an opportunity to move towards better consumer outcomes by making sure that we’re as joined up as we can be,” says Collin. “If there is information that’s held

by Trading Standards Officers about the

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performance of conformity assessment bodies, then it’s useful for us to have that to build into our assessments. So we want information from TSOs, and we want them to know that that feedback loop is possible.” (See contact details, below.)

Mutual benefits The ‘feedback loop’ between UKAS and Trading Standards benefits both parties in several ways. In an immediate sense, the testing, calibration and product conformity laboratories used

by Trading Standards as part of dayto-day enforcement work should all be UKAS-accredited, providing a legitimacy and robustness to Trading Standards inspections and prosecutions.

Beyond that, Collin says, “Accreditation forms part of the way in which businesses meet their regulatory requirements, whether for things specifically required in law such as product safety, or in areas such as animal feed. It can also be part of the due diligence that companies carry out when they want to check that a product meets certain standards. That then helps them to build up the profile of how a product meets the requirements that are being placed on it.”

That promotes good behaviour and compliance by businesses, serving as a preventative bulwark against the types of problems that can create headaches for Trading Standards and consumers alike.

For example, the assurance provided

by UKAS-accredited schemes can be a useful way of keeping front doors

firmly closed to rogue traders. “Areas of our work that could be of interest to Trading Standards include ensuring the competence of individuals performing particular functions in the built environment, like electricians, under a competent persons scheme,” says Collin.

“Certification is a way for electricians to show that they are competent, and may be legally required in some cases. And if someone comes to check your gas boiler, it’s mandatory that they are Gas Safe registered — and Gas Safe is an accredited certification scheme.”

Demonstrating competence will also be vital in the push towards net zero, particularly when it comes to

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boosting consumer confidence. Previous government schemes that aimed to support home retrofitting have not been entirely successful, and being able to rely on installers is critical. “Accreditation enables government and the public to have confidence in these schemes,” says Collin. “The competence of installers can be demonstrated through certification, and there is a need for that certification to be accredited.”

Built on trust Businesses also benefit from the credibility that UKAS-accredited conformity assessment brings, since it enables them to export products that meet international standards and, importantly, it makes them eligible to partake in activities like public procurement processes.

But certification only really means anything when it is built upon solid foundations. “There are some organisations that claim to do things like ISO 9001 certification within only a

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couple of weeks or so,” says Collin. “But can you rely on their competence?

“If you’re using non-accredited services, or services that are supposedly accredited by organisations other than UKAS (other than national accreditation bodies from other countries), you can’t have any confidence in their chain of traceability or conformity to international standards.

“That can bring a variety of problems further down the line, when you discover that as a business you’re not able to go into public procurement chains, or you may end up tying yourself into a contract that you can’t get out of. Equally, if a business has a problem with a product and Trading Standards becomes involved, you need to prove your due diligence. You can say, ‘well, I’ve had it tested’ — but if the test was not accredited, how do you know the testing was any good?

“Not only can you not be sure that it’s safe, you also don’t have that backup in case you fall into problems with conformity further down the line.”

Useful resources UKAS provides various tools to help Trading Standards and others find information about whether organisations are accredited. Its website (see link, below) includes a database of accredited organisations which can be searched by name and business area. UKAS also hosts the CertCheck tool, which enables users to verify UKAS-accredited management system certificates to ISO standards.

“If Trading Standards Officers are investigating a company that makes claims about having certifications, they can use this database and see whether those claims are accurate or not, says Collin. “And if it’s not listed, they can contact us to see what evidence they need to progress from there.”

Close links with Trading Standards are baked into UKAS’s DNA. CTSI is itself a member of UKAS, and UKAS sponsors events and exhibits each year at the CTSI Conference. “UKAS has team members from across a range of different business areas, including ex-Trading Standards people like me,” says Collin.

“UKAS regularly recruits both permanent assessment staff and contracted technical experts. I encourage Trading Standards professionals who may be interested to check out the vacancies.

“UKAS encourages TSOs to give feedback about conformity assessment bodies where they see difficulties or challenges in performance — the more specific, the better. That’s what our role is about — bringing confidence that conformity assessment bodies are meeting the standards and demonstrating what is expected of them. It’s all part of a quality improvement cycle.” l

Further information Visit: ukas.com/find-an-organisation and certcheck.ukas.com To give feedback to UKAS about conformity assessment bodies, email: customerfeedback@ukas.com To contact Richard Collin, email: externalaffairs@ukas.com

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Mental health

By Richard Young

Time to talk

Farming can be a notoriously tough and solitary livelihood which can test even the hardiest of souls. In Cornwall, farmers don’t have to go it alone, thanks to an innovative new scheme Rising operating costs and dwindling incomes are putting a strain on many farmers’ ability to run viable and sustainable businesses. Needless to say, the emotional toll of this can be severe — and for many, it can be unbearable. With a mental health crisis affecting farmers, their families and, in turn, the livestock under their care, an innovative project launched by Cornwall Trading Standards is letting struggling farmers know that help is at hand.

Jonathan McCulloch, Animal Health Inspector at Cornwall County Council Trading Standards, was the driving force behind the Speak Out to Help Out initiative, which encourages farmers facing personal difficulties to talk about them in a supportive and confidential environment.

“We all use the expression ‘perfect storm’ far too freely these days, but it does apply to agriculture at the moment,” McCulloch says. “Last winter, because we had had such a hot, dry summer, there was a shortage of animal feed. The war in Ukraine pushed up the price of grain, fuel and electricity — from which we’ve all suffered — but when you’re a large user of electricity, such as a dairy farm, that means a massive increase in your costs.

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The price of straw has also gone up this year, to about £150 a ton, which is double what it was a few years ago. Farmers are struggling to buy straw so their animals can have a clean, dry lying area, as required by the legislation. Fertiliser also is now seven or eight times the price it was three years ago.

“This winter, milk prices have dropped.

One dairy farmer told me that he’s lost £100,000 a month as a result. That’s a massive amount and it affects the viability of the whole business. He’s one of the biggest dairy farmers in the county but smaller farmers are proportionately affected. We’re all suffering across the whole country, the cash just isn’t out there, and it means that many farmers are struggling to actually run their business.”

All too much One particularly difficult episode which occurred in January 2022 was the impetus for the Speak Out to Help Out project. A local farmer had experienced a series of family tragedies which resulted in him becoming overwhelmed by the strenuous day-to-day duties of farming and a rising tide of paperwork and bills. He suffered a mental breakdown, and when McCulloch and colleagues visited the

farm they found malnourished cattle, as well as the carcasses of animals that had already starved to death. Urgent remedial action was required, but it was clear that prosecution would not be appropriate under the circumstances.

Cattle which were sufficiently healthy were tested for bovine tuberculosis and sold on to other farms, while those that were beyond help had to be culled. The farmer himself received mental health support and is now retired.

“In more than 25 years, I’ve never come across a case as bad as this one before,” McCulloch reflects. “But the agricultural world is such a close community that neighbours rallied to provide food and hay for the cattle so they weren’t going hungry. Everybody worked together and it was a real team effort.”

Many different agencies and organisations had visited the farm prior to McCulloch’s involvement, but no-one had realised the seriousness of the situation until it was far too late.

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“The cash just isn’t out there, and it means that many farmers are struggling to actually run their business”

McCulloch believes this is because of the ‘stiff upper-lip’ attitude that many in the farming community adopt, and he could see that there was a necessity to dismantle the stigma around mental health issues.

“The vast majority of farmers are male, and there is often a lack of willingness to speak to friends, relatives or medical professionals about the way they’re feeling,” he says.

“There’s been some great work done over the last few years across the whole country within the agricultural sector, but there’s still a need to get the professionals in to help people — which is where Speak Out to Help Out comes in.

“It doesn’t necessarily need to be self-referral; people can refer a friend, a neighbour or a relative if they think they are suffering from a mental health episode and need help.

“We’ve also got agricultural chaplains involved, who can pop around to see how people are doing and start the conversation.”

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Spreading the load Speak Out to Help Out enables organisations with an interest in supporting Cornish agriculture to pool resources and ensure the needs of farmers in difficulty are addressed.

Its meetings, which are chaired by Trading Standards portfolio-holder Councillor Martyn Alvey, are scheduled for the winter months when problems are usually at their worst.

The group first met in November 2022 and meetings are held every six weeks, hosting representatives from the Farm Community Network, the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution, the Addington Fund, Farm Cornwall and the Farm Fit project, as well as other interested parties including the Livestock Auctioneers’ Association, the National Farmers Union, the Country Land and Business Association, the rural team of Devon and Cornwall Police, and the Bishop of Truro’s agricultural advisor.

Staff from the Cornwall Council Animal

Health, County Farms, and Public Health teams also attend.

The Farm Community Network provided a contact number which was printed on credit card-sized window stickers sponsored by Cornwall Council’s Public Health service, as well as posters which were distributed to vets, livestock markets and other farm support professionals. The helpline, which operates from 7am to 11pm, provides an outlet for any farmer in Cornwall experiencing mental health difficulties.

It means they can speak confidentially about their problems, receive targeted advice from specialist organisations and charities and, crucially, know that they don’t have to go it alone.

The scheme has proved a success — and there is no reason it shouldn’t be replicated elsewhere in the country, says McCulloch. “We perhaps don’t realise the ‘soft power’ we have, as county councils, whereby if we invite the relevant people and organisations to come in for a conversation, they generally will.

“It’s not at all expensive to do it.

It just requires the use of a meeting room, and a small amount of Officer time to coordinate things. As councils we can use our power to bring together farm support charities and other interested parties to discuss problems before they become nightmares.” l

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In conversation with: John Herriman

I N C O N V E R S AT I O N W I T H

JOHN HERRIMAN

CTSI’s Chief Executive talks about the growing profile of Trading Standards, the Institute’s renewed sense of purpose, and the continuing journey to ensure that both the profession and the public are safeguarded from harm

BY RICHARD YOUNG

John Herriman came aboard CTSI as its Chief Executive in April 2021, having previously served as Director of Training at the Maritime Reserves and as Executive Director of the National Association of Head Teachers. He joined the Institute at a time of upheaval, both inside and outside Trading Standards. The aftermaths of Brexit and Covid had created their own unique set of challenges for enforcers, businesses and consumers, and the ‘death by a thousand cuts’ of central government-imposed austerity measures, along with the subsequent cost-of-living crisis, has only compounded the difficulty for those working on the front line of consumer protection.

Herriman’s background makes him well positioned to steady the Trading Standards ship, and he has brought with him a passion for education, training and recruitment. His tenure thus far has also coincided with a renewed emphasis on campaigning and political engagement,

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which he believes has given CTSI a more prominent role in speaking truth to power.

“The profile of Trading Standards has risen exponentially over the past 12 to 18 months, and that's because we've put a real focus on being a policyled organisation, which we weren't necessarily before,” Herriman says.

“We've been on an incredible journey, most visibly represented by vapes. Within the past six months, we’ve seen two announcements from the Prime Minister in relation to a new vaping task force and £30m being allocated to Trading Standards, Border Force and HMRC. That puts Trading Standards back on the map.

“It’s been really rewarding to see, because it's a recognition of what the profession does. It’s also recognition of the importance of our members across all of the different sectors that they work in, particularly in reinforcing the value of place-based regulation, which there had been a loss of focus on.

“And then there have been other areas where our profile has grown, for example in our campaigning for a legal definition of vegan foods and many, many other topics as well.”

Loud and clear With Trading Standards ‘back on the map’, Herriman and others — including many of CTSI’s hard-working Lead Officers — have been pushed into the media spotlight to speak on TV and in the press about Trading Standards’ activities and concerns. What does that feel like?

“It’s an incredible responsibility, but also a real privilege to talk about the work of the profession, because it all relies on what is being done on the ground,” Herriman says. “We've had to remind people of just how important Trading Standards is, and that’s easier when it can be linked to a particular issue, like scams or vapes. It helps people realise how important it is to have place-based

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enforcement activity going on at the local level. And the only way you can do that is through Trading Standards, because nobody else can do it.

“There is still a huge amount of work to do because we know that there are still capacity challenges within local authorities; but it feels like we have got some momentum behind us now, and I think that is the key message that I and others are getting across in those sorts of media engagements.”

Being able to argue for the importance of Trading Standards is only possible when those arguments are backed up by solid, undeniable evidence, Herriman adds. “I think, for a period of time, we were very focused on just putting the message out there about needing more capacity in local authorities for Trading Standards teams,” Herriman says. “That's a critically important message, but we weren't necessarily giving the evidence for why we needed those resources.

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“By becoming policy-led, we're identifying the evidence that justifies why the capacity is required. That’s how you influence policy and funding decisions in national and local government. For example, in relation to vapes, we saw an increase of between 4% to 8% of young people who were trying vapes, and that happened over the period of a year — and that was a scary statistic. By taking that evidence we were then able to build a narrative around it, and then gather more evidence. That's what gets the media and public's attention.

“You can't argue with the evidence.

That really puts politicians on the spot, and they have to respond to it.

Particularly as we're coming into a general election year, politicians are interested in what the public are thinking locally. That enables us to put pressure on government to make the right decisions in relation to protecting local communities.”

Campaigning and Conference Herriman cites CTSI’s successful call for a delay to the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill as an example of its increased influence. “We formed a coalition and the Safeguarding Our Standards campaign which resonated, particularly among businesses. It was the responsible thing to do, and that was a good outcome, because it was good for consumers and for businesses at the end of the day.

“We also did some campaigning around Imperial Measures — we still haven't had the outcome of that consultation yet, interestingly, but it all seems to have gone quiet on that front.

That was driven by a particular doctrine coming out of government, in relation to Brexit and its supposed benefits, and it was completely unnecessary.”

Other highlights of the past 12 months have included the 2023 CTSI Conference in Birmingham. “It was just

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In conversation with: John Herriman

Above: CTSI has been an increasingly visible presence in the national media, with TV appearances by spokespersons including (from left to right) Policy & Campaigns Executive Kerry Nicol and Lead Officers Alison Farrar, Sylvia Rook, Kate Pike and Katherine Hart, discussing issues ranging from vapes to fair trading and scams

outstanding,” Herriman says. “We had more members, more younger members, and it was a more inclusive and diverse conference than ever. We had better discussions, better outcomes and it was financially more sustainable. There were step changes at every level of the conference. And the buzz around the place was just incredible.”

That renewed sense of purpose coincides with a growth in CTSI membership for the first time in five years. “There were some real challenges around the positioning of the Institute and whether people saw us as a professional body that they wanted to be a part of,” he says. “We’re going to increase the focus on drawing more new members from local authorities, but also from businesses and non-profit organisations, as well as the civil service. In 2023 we created a new membership section for the civil service, which is representative of the fact that we have members working in more diverse areas than ever. That needs to be reflected in the way that we're governed and structured, because

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as a professional membership body, we need to be representative of where our members work, and we need to be able to support them in the delivery of their roles in relation to Trading Standards.”

Training has also been a big area of focus, with ongoing efforts to make the Trading Standards Professional qualification more appealing and flexible for prospective students: “We've looked at how the qualification can be modernised and importantly, how it can work alongside apprenticeship schemes, Herriman says. “We’ve gone through the process of aligning the Level 6 Trading Standards Professional qualification in England, and we've also been supporting apprenticeships for the Level 4 qualification in Scotland and Wales.

“There is still a huge amount of work to do... but it feels like have got some momentum behind us now”

“That puts CTSI at the centre of all the conversations relating to entry into the Trading Standards profession, and progression and development within it.

“That leads us to something else I’m very proud of, which is the way we've been able to continue to embrace equality, diversity and inclusion as an Institute.

It’s a continuous journey, which we will always be on, but it feels like we're really starting to get some momentum.

“I've had some brilliant conversations with apprentices and trainees, and I think there is a recognition that as an Institute, we have become more progressive.

That's also reflected in conversations that we're having with our Council and our branches. Over the last 12 months, we've had more interest from branches in setting up their own EDI networks and ambassadors. That's really encouraging.”

Room for improvement Not every aspect of the Trading Standards landscape is rosy however, and there remain critical concerns about funding and the political appetite for a robust

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Journal of Trading Standards

“National regulators need local delivery. If that’s cut, then you can’t do that work”

Left: John Herriman speaking about vapes on Channel 4 News last year

regulatory and enforcement framework.

Serious problems with the financial stability of councils across the country are putting more pressures on Trading Standards than ever (see page 26), and an anti-regulation mindset persists in certain quarters — meaning there is no time for CTSI to rest on its laurels. “There's a greater level of awareness in government of our role, otherwise you wouldn't get the additional funding for vaping and tobacco enforcement — but I think they're sticking plasters,” Herriman concedes.

“They’re not the systemic changes that we need to see. And that's the issue. Yes, we have organisations that have been set up to deal with specific things, like OPSS, but none of that works unless you've got effective place-based regulation at the local level, protecting communities.

“National regulators need local delivery. If that's cut, then you can’t do that work. I don't think there's enough of a recognition of that within government.

“Part of the challenge here is that we fundamentally take a different view of the world. We take a risk-based view, which

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is that consumers are exposed to harm, or businesses are exposed to risk, from products getting into the UK that are faulty, counterfeit, illicit or dangerous.

There is undoubtedly a greater risk of that happening now and we’re seeing the evidence of that through the Online Marketplaces APPG project.

“It’s very clear that the risks are increasing to the public, and also for legitimate businesses. Our response to that is that things need to change within the system to mitigate that risk. We can look at non-legislative mechanisms like Consumer Codes and Alternative Dispute Resolution, which create more opportunities for consumers to get redress through different mechanisms.

That’s better for consumers, undoubtedly, but it also demands that you have the right level of enforcement on the front line.

“We've got evidence for that from Northern Ireland, where there’s been investment in resource and capacity, albeit in the civil service, which is where Trading Standards sits there.

They’ve been able to do more market

surveillance, and therefore they can identify where the issues are, and they can then tackle those issues.

“The alternative is that you take a resource-constrained view, which is to look at how much money you’ve got, and then look at how much capacity you can put into the system. I think that is a shortsighted view of the world, and it’s not actually solving the problem.”

In closing, I ask Herriman what motivates him to get up on a cold, dark winter’s morning and head into the office. “The thing that drives me, as I think it drives everybody in the profession, is that really strong connection with social purpose,” he says.

“It feels as though what we do genuinely makes a difference. In all of our work, we are protecting people.

“That is what really connected me with CTSI when I came in, and it is reinforced when I meet people who are involved in the profession, because you hear about what they're doing on the ground. That gives me a great sense of satisfaction and pride in what we're supporting.” l

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Research

By Richard Young

An eye to the future

Data is at the heart of Consumer Scotland’s mission to support the consumers of today while looking after the consumers of tomorrow Consumers across the UK have been affected by significant upheaval in recent years, with the lingering effects of the pandemic, the push towards Net Zero and the ongoing turmoil of the cost-ofliving crisis each causing shifts in how and where people spend their money.

Consumers in Scotland are no different.

Consumer Scotland was established in April 2022 by the Scottish Parliament with the remit of advocating on consumers’ behalf (see boxout, right). As part of its current work programme it is particularly focused on the cost of living, supporting consumers in vulnerable circumstances and issues relating to climate change.

It fulfils its brief in part through the analysis of data taken from a range of sources — and it has its sights set not just on the challenges facing consumers today, but tomorrow as well. As Eleanor Mullan, Head of Analysis at Consumer Scotland explains, “Within the Consumer Scotland Act 2020, we have to consider future consumers, which can create tensions; what’s good for consumers now might not necessarily be what’s good for consumers in the future.”

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One of those tensions occurs in relation to utility bills; part of what consumers pay today (shareholder dividends notwithstanding) is re-invested in infrastructure, theoretically meaning that future consumers can benefit from efficient, well-maintained services.

“We have a specific interest in the gas, electricity, water and postal markets,” says Mullan. “We would definitely advocate for bills in these areas to be affordable, and we have concerns about how they’re not.

But if bills are low, that can potentially impact how much money is available for investment in these services, which might mean bills in the future might have to rise by even more.”

Weighing up the evidence Consumer Scotland gathers its data from sources including regulators and enforcers (including Trading Standards), as well as conducting original research.

It can also make information requests to relevant organisations, including in the private sector. “We’re very much an evidence-led organisation, and we need to be able to point to the evidence

that underpins the policy positions we advocate on,” says Mullan.

Within Consumer Scotland’s research and analysis division, Mullan says, “We’ve done quite a bit of quantitative polling work, and we’ve got some qualitative work ongoing at the moment.” That includes deliberative research relating to Net Zero and people’s attitudes towards it. “We are researching what consumers need to know to change their behavior around things like solar PV and heat pumps, and looking at individual consumers’ experiences.

“We’ve got people who’ve worked in areas like energy and water for a long time and have built up a good network of contacts and expertise we can draw on.

We are also working with other consumer organisations in the advice landscape to get an idea of what they’re seeing, and where we can directly access their data.”

Among those organisations is Trading Standards Scotland (TSS), which provides tactical assessments of current consumer threats and gives an overview of the issues occurring on the ground. Consumer Scotland also has access to the Advice Direct Scotland and

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Interestingly, each of the available datasets suggested the problem was in a completely different area Citizens Advice Scotland datasets, which provide insights into common complaint categories and apparently problematic sectors. There are also regular meetings with the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland (SCOTSS).

“If we think there might be a Trading Standards interest in one of our projects, we go to them on an ad hoc basis and seek their opinion,” says Mullan. “We’re conscious that we’re not a frontline organisation — consumers don’t come

Consumer Scotland’s areas of focus Consumer Scotland uses its statutory functions to improve outcomes for current and future consumers by: » Reducing harm to consumers » Increasing consumer confidence » Encouraging public bodies to address consumer matters » Promoting sustainable consumption » Advancing inclusion, prosperity and wellbeing

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directly to us, so we really need the support of the people who are out there on the ground like Trading Standards Officers. This helps us understand what problems they are dealing with on a day-to-day basis, what’s causing those problems, and how we can then feed that into our advocacy work.”

That advocacy work includes consultation responses which often take the views of Trading Standards into account; for the Skidmore Review into Net Zero for example, Consumer Scotland drew on TSS’s Project Maxwell, an initiative to tackle the misleading marketing of energyefficiency products. Consumer Scotland also used Trading Standards evidence to inform its response to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill.

Mullan, who worked as an intelligence analyst for TSS prior to joining Consumer Scotland, is aware of the benefits that collaborative working can bring. “Trading Standards go out and catch the bad guys; Consumer Scotland is trying to change the framework so that those bad things can’t happen in the first place,” she says.

“We aren’t the mouthpiece of Trading Standards, but we use their positions to inform our work. For example, we were very worried about the implications of the REUL Bill and we engaged with Trading Standards on that because we had similar concerns.

We also engaged with SCOTSS on our response to the Product Safety Review.

“We’ve also recognised the value of Trading Standards in raising awareness and in the last financial year we funded TSS’s Shut Out Scammers campaign, which enabled them to do some polling research, and there was also funding to do a TV advert to supplement the social media campaign.”

Blind data There isn’t always a clear consensus on consumer protection issues — let alone the best way of solving them. Within its 2023-24 work programme, Consumer Scotland has several individual streams, including a focus on poor quality goods and services. And because the data available is drawn from different sources,

it can be difficult to identify a single narrative thread. “It’s huge, as you can imagine; how do you make poor quality goods and services workable from a policy perspective?” Mullan says. “Interestingly, each of the available datasets suggested the problem was in a completely different area. I was quite struck by that because I was expecting them all to have a much more similar picture than what I found.

“This is going to sound a bit odd coming from a data person, but I would caution against relying on data in a blanket sense; data out is only as good as the data that comes in. So when you’re talking about partial datasets in the first place, from consumer advice agencies for example, it only relates to the things that people are phoning up about. For instance, people are probably more likely to seek advice about problems with a large purchase, which might be why complaints about used cars are always so high. Whereas in the grand scheme of things across the whole country, maybe not that many people experience issues with used cars.

“Also, data is not very good at giving you the human impact of something; it’s really good at telling you the scale of a problem in numerical terms but it’s not very good at telling you how it affects individuals’ lives. It’s something we’re conscious of, particularly with our responsibility for consumers in vulnerable circumstances.”

Insights drawn from social media and online reviews might help to bolster the existing datasets with something that speaks to people’s experiences; but that brings its own challenges. “I would love to use that sort of data,” says Mullan. “I’ve put that forward as a potential project — we are conscious that it’s a very valuable data source.” There are, however, ethical issues surrounding the use of such data for research purposes, as well as practical challenges. If these can be overcome though, there are many invaluable insights to be gained — and there is a clear opportunity to embrace innovation, Mullan concludes: “AI might give us opportunities to do it in a manageable way — it’s something I’d like to explore.” ●

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CPPD

By Business Companion

CPPD Module 25:

Single-use plastics As of 1 October 2023, the sale and provision of single-use plastic and polystyrene food and drink containers is banned in England, with Trading Standards responsible for enforcing the new law The Environmental Protection (Plastic Straws, Cotton Buds and Stirrers) (England) Regulations 2020 prohibit the supply, or offering to supply, any singleuse plastic straw, plastic-stemmed cotton bud or plastic drink stirrer in England.

The Environmental Protection (Plastic Plates etc and Polystyrene Containers etc) (England) Regulations 2023 prohibit the supply, or offering to supply, any singleuse plastic plates, bowls and trays, cutlery and balloon sticks, or polystyrene food or drink containers and cups in England (with some exemptions — see below).

Damage caused The Regulations have been introduced to reduce plastic pollution in the oceans.

By banning the supply of these items, the government aims to protect marine wildlife and ultimately eliminate all avoidable plastic waste, as set out in the 25-year environment plan.

In a summary of their study carried out in 2020, the Pew Charitable Trusts and SystemIQ state: “The flow of plastic into the ocean is projected to nearly triple by 2040.

Without considerable action to address plastic pollution, 50 kg of plastic will enter the ocean for every metre of shoreline.”

Plastic straws, cotton bud stems and drink stirrers are consistently in the 10 most commonly found items in beach surveys. Around 15% of plastic ocean waste washes up on shore, which can increase the risk to public health from contact on beaches and bathing waters. The rest remains in the ocean, introducing potentially toxic substances into the food chain.

Campaigns to promote behaviour change have failed to stop the irresponsible disposal of these items. Cotton buds are

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commonly flushed down toilets, and sewage treatment works cannot prevent all of them reaching the sea. When entering sewage systems, the plastic stems do not settle with organics; their buoyancy allows them to flow through plant equipment and their narrow diameter means they are not caught by all screens. Straws and drink stirrers are rarely recycled due to their size and the effort required to remove any food debris. Only 10% of plastic plates, cutlery, etc is recycled.

Products covered by the ban The ban applies to: • single-use plastic • straws • cotton buds • drink stirrers • plates, bowls and trays • cutlery • balloon sticks • polystyrene • food or drink containers • cups Definitions The Regulations define ‘plastic’ as “a material consisting of polymer... to which additives or other substances may have been added, and which can function as a main structural component of final products, with the exception of natural polymers that have not been chemically modified”. ‘Single-use plastic-stemmed cotton buds’ are rods made wholly or partly of plastic, which have cotton wrapped around both ends. ‘Single-use plastic straws’ are those that are made wholly or partly from plastic. Neither are designed or intended to be re-used. These products must not be supplied to end-users except in certain circumstances as outlined in

‘Exemptions’ below. This does not prohibit supply to businesses. Some drinking straws made from paper do contain small amounts of plastic in the adhesive lining, and these are still permitted. Drinking straws supplied with drinks cartons are also covered by the legislation.

‘Plastic drink stirrers’ are those made wholly or partly of plastic and used for stirring drinks. These must not be supplied in any circumstances; there are no exceptions.

‘Single-use plastic plate, tray or bowl’ means any item that is designed or intended to be used as a plate, tray or bowl, made wholly or partly from plastic, and not designed or intended to be re-used. There are some exemptions where these items are classed as ‘packaging’ (see below).

‘Single-use plastic cutlery’ means items that are designed or intended to be used as, or in the same way as, a knife, fork, spoon or chopstick, made wholly or partly from plastic, and not designed or intended to be re-used.

‘Single-use plastic balloon stick’ means a stick, including its attachment mechanism, that is designed or intended to be attached to and support balloons, made wholly or partly from plastic, and not designed or intended to be re-used.

‘Single-use polystyrene food or drink container and cup’ means a receptacle such as a box, or a cup, with or without a lid or cover, that is made wholly or partly from expanded or foamed extruded polystyrene, used to contain food or drink that is ready to be consumed, and not designed or intended to be re-used.

The Regulations, therefore, only apply to extruded polystyrene (XPS) and expanded polystyrene (EPS), and not, for example, crystal polystyrene, which can be used to make clear plastic drinking glasses.

Exemptions There are a number of exceptions to the prohibitions. For straws and cotton buds,

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CPPD MODULE 25: SINGLE-USE PLASTICS Submit your answers at tradingstandards.uk/cppdtest 1. What percentage of plastic plates and cutlery is recycled? a. 10% b. 20% c. 30% 2. How much plastic ocean waste washes up on shorelines? a. around 5% b. around 15% c. around 25% 3. Are drink stirrers included in the ban? a. yes b. no

these exceptions allow for situations where the items may be required due to disability or accessibility issues.

The following supplies of single-use plastic straws are permitted: • from a registered pharmacy, but products must not be displayed or advertised in store • from a catering establishment (pubs, clubs, restaurants, canteens, etc) where supplied for immediate consumption of food or drink.

They must only be supplied if requested and not made available for customers to help themselves.

They cannot be offered either verbally or in writing • for use as a medical device or for a medical purpose. This includes preventative medicine, medical diagnosis, research, and care and treatment • for use as packaging for a product — for example, certain medicines. This does not exempt drinking straws supplied with drinks cartons • for use in care homes, prisons, schools and early years provision, but alternatives should be sought where possible

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The following supplies of plastic cotton buds are permitted: • for use as a medical device or for a medical purpose. This includes preventative medicine, medical diagnosis, research, and care and treatment • for forensic purposes: use by forensic service providers • for scientific purposes: diagnostic, education and research The following supplies of plastic plates, bowls and trays are permitted: • supply to other businesses • where the item is ‘packaging’ ‘Packaging’ means products to be used for the containment, protection, handling, delivery and presentation of goods. This would include pre-filled packages (such as salad bowls), packaging that is filled at the point of sale (such as a takeaway counter or a salad bar in a supermarket), and packaging used for deliveries.

The following supplies of polystyrene (XPS / EPS) food or drink containers and cups are permitted: • where the food is not ready to be consumed and requires further preparation, such as adding water or heating ●

4. Are polystyrene food containers included in the ban? a. yes b. no 5. Are paper straws containing small amounts of plastic in the adhesive lining still permitted? a. yes b. no 6. Are single-use plastic chopsticks included in the ban? a. yes b. no 7. Are single-use plastic straws allowed to be used for medical purposes? a. yes b. no 8. Do the Regulations apply to extruded polystyrene (XPS)? a. yes b. no Applicants who complete the module will be given a certificate.

The test must be taken by 7 June 2024. If you have any questions, please email kerryn@tsi.org.uk Previous module answers are available on the Journal of Trading Standards website.

Text supplied by Business Companion. For more, visit: www.businesscompanion.info

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Scams after-care

By Richard Young

A problem shared A collaboration between the charity Age UK and Trading Standards continues to make a real difference by providing after-care support to older victims of scams Becoming a victim of fraud can be a traumatic, frightening and sometimes embarrassing experience for anyone.

In addition to the financial loss it entails, it undermines the victim’s self-confidence and mental health, and can have far-reaching repercussions for their general quality of life.

For older people though, the impact of falling victim to fraud can be particularly overwhelming; it can decimate retirement savings and lead to a loss of independence, and National Trading Standards (NTS) research shows that elderly people defrauded in their own homes are more likely either to die or go into residential care within a year.

Factor in the sad tendency for elderly victims to be targeted repeatedly, their personal data bought and sold by criminals looking to exploit their vulnerability in the most cold-hearted way imaginable, and it becomes clear that there is a real need for older people who have been scammed to receive an extra measure of support — and for others to be given the tools to avoid being scammed in the first place.

Which is why when Cheshire East Trading Standards Officers Mark Lodge and Andy Burrows approached Age UK Cheshire East in 2017 about kickstarting a project designed to provide support to

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elderly scam victims, the charity leapt at the opportunity.

Sally Wilson is Project Manager of the Age UK Cheshire East Scams Awareness & Aftercare project, which resulted from that initial meeting. She says: “Trading Standards came to us, which gave the project some gravitas and encouraged buy-in from our side. The project set out to address the fact that Trading Standards were getting repeat victims of fraud and doorstep crime. Some of these cases had resulted in prosecutions, but by that time the victims’ lives had imploded.”

According to Lodge, “Trading Standards has got a long history of safeguarding older people, who are particularly susceptible to the effects of crime. But we were coming across a large number of victims who weren’t aware initially that they were victims, and it was quite apparent to us that there was a need for after-care. We were very good at delivering awareness sessions, and we were very good at detecting fraud and prosecuting where necessary; but after a case has ended, Trading Standards will just sort of disappear, leaving somebody possibly prone to another fraud.

“What the Age UK Cheshire East team has been able to achieve fully exceeded our expectations,” he adds.

The Garfield Weston Foundation and the National Lottery Community Fund provided the project’s initial funding for 2020-22. Age UK extended the funding in January 2022 for a further two years, with supplementary funding from the Cheshire East Police and Crime Commissioner.

Local heroes Recurring problems in Cheshire East, as elsewhere in the country, include doorstep crime and cold-calling, as well as mail scams and romance scams targeting the lonely and socially isolated.

Among the practical solutions the project has focused on are the installation of call blockers and the setting up of new bank accounts for victims. It has also set out As a former to address the Trading Standards underlying issues Officer, this is one of why victims were of the best projects vulnerable in the I’ve come across first place.

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Age UK national Scams Prevention and Support Programme branches 1. Cymru – Age UK Gwent 2. East Midlands – Age UK Nottingham & Nottinghamshire 3. Eastern – Age UK Hertfordshire 4. London – Age UK Barnet 5. London - Age UK Camden 6. London - Age UK Wandsworth 7. North East - Age UK Northumberland 8. North West - Age UK Cheshire East 9. North West - Age UK Lancashire 10. North West - Age UK Manchester 11. South East - Age UK East Sussex 12. South East - Age UK Oxfordshire 13. South East - Age UK Surrey 14. South West - Age UK Bristol 15. Yorkshire & Humber - Age UK Leeds 16. Yorkshire & Humber - Age UK Sheffield For further information about getting involved, or setting up a project in your area, contact Nikita Vadolia, National Project Manager for the programme: nikita.vadolia@ageuk.org.uk

“Prevention is better than cure, so we deliver awareness talks and visit people in their homes to talk to them after they have been scammed,” says Wilson.

“We wanted to reach as many people as possible, and we knew that it couldn’t all be done by one person. And so that’s where we brought in volunteers who come from a wide range of backgrounds, including in cybersecurity, IT and law enforcement.”

One of those volunteers is Nora Walsh, retired Head of Trading Standards at the City of London Corporation. When she moved to Cheshire East two years ago, she was determined that her experience and skills should be put to good use. “Because I was so passionate about combatting scams and helping victims where I could, I saw this role and volunteered for it,” she says. “When you’re dealing with victims or people who have had near misses, it’s great to be able to go to their homes and spend time with them. Because you haven’t got another 20 visits to do that

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day, or 100 complaints sitting on your database waiting for you to deal with, you can take the time to deal with those people and really get to the bottom of what’s happening.”

That personal touch has enabled the project to have a real impact, Wilson says.

“We’ve delivered awareness sessions to over 2,000 older people, and there are around 200 victims of fraud who we’ve supported in some way, shape, or form.

We also produce our bulletin which goes to at least 6,000 people, and reaches thousands more via social media.”

Due recognition The success of the project has not gone unrecognised. It was highly commended in the Brian Smith Award category at CTSI’s Hero Awards in November (see page 54), and recently the initiative’s funding has been continued for a further two years. It has also become part of the Age UK national Scams Prevention and Support Programme (see boxout, above).

“All of us working on the project have something that binds us together: we’ve either been victims of fraud ourselves, we’ve had very near misses, we’ve had family members who have been victims of fraud, or we have just a passion of wanting to combat injustice,” says Wilson.

The project has also found many useful allies, says Lodge. “We’ve got the police on board, the Safer Cheshire East Partnership, and Adult Safeguarding.

We’ve also extended the links we have with financial institutions and we’re regularly delivering sessions to banks, who are very good at identifying possible victims.”

“As a former Trading Standards Officer, this is one of the best projects I’ve come across in terms of its longevity and the partnership between Trading Standards and Age UK,” Walsh concludes. “I don’t think there are many examples where that sort of partnership has sustained itself and grown. I’m really proud to be associated with it.” l

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OPINION

Adrian Simpson Policy Advisor at the British Retail Consortium

Wiping out greenwashing Consumers and enforcers alike should be wary of businesses making misleading ‘greenwashing’ claims that exaggerate their eco-friendly credentials ‘Ecodesign’, ‘sustainable’ and ‘carbon neutral’ are phrases that are likely to conjure up blue skies, green fields and clean air in consumers’ minds, and they often find their way onto product packaging. As Trading Standards professionals, we know that many unscrupulous businesses will try anything to get in touch with the inside of consumers’ wallets. Unfortunately, where there are pounds to be spent, there are misleading claims to be made and scams to be perpetrated, and for carbon-conscious consumers, this area is a minefield.

Retail guru Mary Portas told the audience at the British Retail Consortium’s summer school this year that “every pound spent is a vote for how we choose to live our lives”. This has never been truer for environmentally conscious consumers, who are looking to make sure that their pounds have a positive impact on the planet. According to a recent KPMG survey, more than half (54%) of consumers in the UK will stop buying from a company if it has been found to have misled in its sustainability claims.1 The same survey found that a third

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(33%) of consumers are sceptical of ‘green’ labels and sustainability claims, whilst 28% admitted to struggling to know what products were green or sustainable due to inconsistent labelling. Consumers named the energy and clothing sectors as those they believe use misleading ‘greenwashing’ claims the most.

Ongoing investigations The practices of businesses of all sizes have fallen under scrutiny; in 2022, various household name retailers came under the scrutiny of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The CMA looked into the retailers’ statements, language and criteria used to make green claims.

The CMA has put together a green claims code which it hopes will “help businesses understand and comply with their existing obligations under consumer protection law when making environmental claims”. It hopes it will “give confidence to those businesses whose products are genuinely ‘green’ to provide consumers with the information they need to make informed decisions”.

The code also looks into the life cycle of

products and services. So, if a product’s production is less than green, but the product is sold as ‘green’, then this could breach the code.

Of course, should businesses choose to mislead consumers then the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 can be enforced. The CMA is very clear that businesses should be able to back up every green claim through evidence.

For businesses, the key takeaway from the code is the importance of evidence and record-keeping. Any move to help consumers make clear, informed decisions that benefit the planet is to be encouraged, but businesses must act responsibly.

Political appetite The Green Claims Code, although it is guidance rather than regulation, is a series in a suite of measures taken by the government to make products and services greener. Not all of the momentum has been in a positive direction however. The most recent, and perhaps most controversial, move was made by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

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Any move to help consumers make clear, informed decisions that benefit the planet is to be encouraged

in September when the ban on the manufacturing of internal combustion cars was delayed from 2030 to 2035. This was attributed to the ongoing cost-ofliving crisis, and the apparently high up-front costs of an electric car.

As expected there was a mixed reaction to this statement. Many of those in the vehicle manufacturing industry were disappointed, as their supply chain was prepared for electric vehicles to be the only cars available for purchase in 2030.

It’s not just cars that are becoming the target for greener products. In one of the first examples of divergence between UK and EU law, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) announced new energy performance standards in January 2023.

According to DBT, the “new proposals would introduce performance standards that are higher than regulations currently in place in either the US or EU”. Although this sounds like a good idea, it means that where there is divergence, different manufacturing, record-keeping and compliance procedures for manufacturers will be required. The knock-on effect for British consumers is that manufacturers

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or retailers could choose not to sell in the UK (as the cost to manufacture is too high, or the compliance procedures too difficult, costly or long), or that the costs of the products are higher, and the range of products potentially less.

Packaging is an area where there are established rules and regulations.

A common frustration for consumers is ‘overpackaging’. Many of us will have seen the pictures on social media of large cardboard boxes used to deliver tiny items like USB sticks. As well as ‘reuse and recovery’ requirements, the Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations 2015 state that packaging volume and weight must be the minimum amount to maintain the necessary levels of safety, hygiene and acceptance for the packed product and for the consumer.

A relatively new area in the UK is the ‘right to repair’. Although well-known and favoured by consumers in the EU, it is not that well-known in the UK. You may have seen local repair cafes operated in village halls or community centres, but this ‘right to repair’ is essentially a requirement for manufacturers of certain

white goods to provide spare parts and repair information for up to 10 years from the product’s discontinuation.

There are also additional rights for professional repairers — but who can call themself a ‘professional repairer’ is not defined in the Ecodesign Regulations 2021, from which derives the ‘right to repair’. This has led manufacturers to ponder over who they can supply certain spare parts and repair information to, and what would happen if a ‘professional repairer’ made a previously safe product ‘unsafe’ through a bodged repair.

Although currently limited in scope when it comes to products, the EU is already looking to the future, with phones and tablets perhaps being given a ‘right to repair’ at some point in the coming years.

Eco-friendly products and services are a hit with consumers and are now driving markets and industries from product design to disposal and re-use.

Businesses need to make sure that they are on the right side of the law to keep their customers happy — and Trading Standards has a vital role to play in ensuring that the system works to the benefit of the planet we all call home. l 1 ‘Over half of UK consumers prepared to boycott brands over misleading green claims’, kpmg.com, 18 Sep 2023

About the author Adrian Simpson has worked on the frontline of Trading Standards at the London Boroughs of Greenwich, Redbridge and Waltham Forest. He is a Chartered Trading Standards Practitioner and Non-Executive Director of CTSI.

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CTSI Hero Awards 2023

By Richard Young

Inspiration and dedication The 2023 CTSI Hero Awards celebrated the past year’s landmark successes in a welldeserved evening of celebration

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Projects that have raised awareness of allergens, tackled illicit dog breeding, promoted diversity and safeguarded child safety were among the important pieces of Trading Standards work recognised at the CTSI Hero Awards 2023. The awards ceremony, which took place in the Houses of Parliament on 22 November, honoured the achievements of some of consumer protection’s best and brightest over the past 12 months.

Yvonne Fovargue MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Consumer Protection, got proceedings under way, commenting: “The Hero Awards are a great opportunity to recognise and celebrate those who’ve gone the extra mile, those who’ve made an impact and an outstanding contribution to consumer protection. You’ll hear many inspiring

stories that demonstrate the dedication, hard work and courage of those working on the front line.”

CTSI Chair James Munro and BTHA Head of Compliance Jerry Burnie OBE followed, each praising the impressive work of the winners and nominees.

“Trading Standards is essential to support the very fabric of society,” Burnie told the audience. “You’re often doing work in difficult conditions, with limited resources and backup — and we do appreciate it.”

And the winners are...

The first award of the evening was for Diversity and Inclusion, and went to the London Branch Trading Standards Race and Equalities Working Group. The group was praised for ‘making a significant impact over the past 12 months, not

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Journal of Trading Standards

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2 1 Members of the London Branch Race & Equalities Working Group Collect their award 2 Yvonne Fovargue MP 3 CTSI Chair James Munro 4 BTHA Head of Compliance Jerry Burnie OBE

just in London but nationally’. Judges particularly highlighted the work that the group has carried out through its campaigns on skin lightening creams and Hajj travel packages.

Highly commended in the same category was Sophie Leney, Head of Trading Standards at Norfolk County Council, who was praised for her commitment to ‘breaking down barriers and embracing diversity and inclusion’.

She was particularly singled out for her work in mentoring and supporting Trading Standards apprentices.

The Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT) won the next award, for Best Product Safety Initiative. CAPT was praised for ‘working tirelessly to prevent death and serious injury to children from avoidable accidents’, with particular recognition

www.JournalofTradingStandards.co.uk

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for the efforts of Chief Executive, Katrina Phillips OBE, to ‘keep child safety high on the agenda of policy makers, professionals, carers and parents’.

“I’m so proud of my team, and it’s something that we feel really passionate about,” Phillips said afterwards.

“The risks posed by products that are available to ordinary families are increasing. Despite the best efforts of Trading Standards, many of the products that people are buying from online marketplaces can kill children and cause life-changing injuries.

“Online marketplaces need to be better regulated. It’s too easy for third-party sellers to evade their responsibilities.

Consumers expect that what they buy has been independently tested and certified safe — the vast majority don’t realise that they can be exposing their children to risk. Product safety needs to be a really important priority for the current and any future government,” she added.

North Lanarkshire Trading Standards and Police Scotland were the winners of the Outstanding Trading Standards Project award, in recognition of their joint action to tackle under-age sales, doorstep crime, anti-counterfeiting and other aspects of serious and organised crime.

Michelle McKenna, Trading Standards Manager at North Lanarkshire The ceremony as Council, took to a whole has really the stage with brought home to Officers from me how broad the Police Scotland to work of Trading accept the award.

Standards is

4

Highly commended in the same category was Daniel Lowbridge, Tobacco Control Officer at Lincolnshire Trading Standards. He was praised for his work with young people through the ‘Vaping: Have a Blast?’ workshops he runs. Since the project began in 2022 there have been 137 workshops to challenge myths around youth vaping, attended by more than 6,500 young people.

Up next was the CTSI Brian Smith Hero Award, named in honour of the late Angus Council Trading Standards Officer whose tireless work to combat scammers was instrumental in promoting call blockers and protecting the vulnerable from doorstep crime. The worthy winner was Andrew Turner, Scams Intervention and Prevention Officer at Lincolnshire Trading Standards, who last year supported 93 people who have either experienced fraud or were at risk of being scammed, many of them socially isolated and with no other support network available.

Highly commended in the category was Sally Wilson, Manager of the Age UK Cheshire East Scams project (see more on page 50).

The inaugural Megan Lee Award followed, a tribute to the teenager whose tragic death as the result of an allergic reaction to an Indian takeaway led her parents, Gemma and Adam Lee, to embark on a national mission to raise the profile of allergen awareness. The Lees made a heartfelt speech about the good work of Trading Standards, and presented the award to Alison Richardson of Staffordshire Trading Standards, whose Operation Taste initiative entailed food

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CTSI Hero Awards 2023

By Richard Young

1

2

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inspections and provided guidance to more than 2,500 food retail premises.

The project resulted in multiple product recalls and notifications made to the FSA Incidents Team.

The BBC’s Scam Interceptors team won the Business Award, in recognition of their work to hunt down scammers and fraudsters operating from illegal call centres. The programme’s presenter, Rav Wilding, accepted the award via video.

Next up, the Intellectual Property Award went to Doug Love, Lead Practitioner in Trading Standards at Hammersmith & Fulham Council Trading Standards.

Love was recognised for his work on the Flawless TV piracy case, in which a criminal gang pocketed £6m by selling knock-off TV subscription packages.

Love’s efforts resulted in five defendants being convicted and sentenced to a combined 30 years’ imprisonment

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3

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following what is reputed to be the biggest ever copyright investigation and prosecution of its kind in the world.

The team at Rochdale Trading Standards were highly commended in the same category for their work on Operation Vulcan, a multi-agency initiative to combat counterfeiting on the streets of Manchester. One investigation which took place under of the project resulted in the disruption of a major organised counterfeit goods distribution network estimated to be worth £65m per year.

Caerphilly Trading Standards were the deserving winners of the Institute’s Hero 2023 award, for their efforts to combat unlicensed dog breeders. The team’s work has resulted in animals being rescued from suffering, enabling them to be rehabilitated and rehomed. It has also resulted in several prosecutions.

Wayne David, MP for Caerphilly,

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presented the award and afterwards commented: “Trading Standards covers so many aspects of our lives and our Trading Standards department does a very, very good job. They have taken the lead in getting to the root of the main causes of illegal dog breeding. Their work has been exemplary.

“The ceremony as a whole has brought home to me how broad the work of Trading Standards is. There are so many facets of an individual’s life which are governed by standards — or the lack of standards — surrounding It is fundamental, the idea that we live products and services across the in a country that length and breadth has standards of the country.” such as the rule Also in the of law and the Institute’s idea that truth Hero 2023 trumps opinion

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8 1 Awards presenter Jenni Falconer on stage with CAPT Chief Executive Katrina Phillips OBE and UKAS’s Richard Collin 2 Gemma and Adam Lee 3 Washington Youth Council receive the Young Consumer Influencer of the Year award from Jess Phillips MP and CTSI Chief Executive John Herriman 4 The Rochdale Trading Standards team

category, Justin Miller, Team Leader at Southwark Trading Standards, was highly commended for his considerable achievements in Proceeds of Crime cases, netting a grand total of £3.2m in confiscation orders across 32 investigations. Miller was also praised for his passion for mentoring and supporting team members.

Luke Laurence, a Sales Executive at the Crown Suzuki dealership in North London, was the proud winner of the Motor Ombudsman’s National Garage Star Award, given in recognition of his standout support for one of his customers.

The evening’s final order of business was to name the CTSI Young Consumer Influencer of the Year, in recognition of people under the age of 18 who have brought consumer protection into the social media spotlight for young people.

The winners were from the Washington

www.JournalofTradingStandards.co.uk

9 5 North Lanarkshire Trading Standards and Police Scotland 6 The BBC Scam Interceptors team

Thanks forlike your CTSI would tosupport thank...

7 Sally Wilson from Age UK Cheshire East 8 Louise Hosking from CIEH, supporter of the Megan Lee Hero Award 9 Attendees outside the Houses of Parliament

Youth Council, and they delivered a rousing spoken-word performance about the dangers of loan sharks and illegal money-lending (see page 16).

Rallying cry One of the evening’s attendees was Jess Phillips, MP for Birmingham Yardley.

Speaking to the Journal of Trading Standards after the ceremony, she said: “It seems like such a small thing, the idea of consumer protection, but to my constituents, it matters that these things are regulated and standards are met.

“It is fundamental, the idea that we live in a country that has standards such as the rule of law and the idea that truth trumps opinion. These are British values that I think have been degraded over time and I’m really grateful to generations gone by that set up Institutions to protect

people against things like scams, because I’m not sure that today, setting up Institutions like this would be possible.

“Trading Standards Officers like those in my constituency ensure that people aren’t being scammed, that people aren’t being poisoned. It’s not a small thing, that people’s rights are protected.

But it’s often seen as a ‘nice to have’ by people who have enough money to never need protection.

“We need to have an enormous review of exactly how we deal with a consumer environment that has raced ahead of us in terms of regulation. Trading Standards and enforcement need to be not just about resources, but also about having the teeth and power to actually do something.”

In emotional closing remarks at the end of the ceremony, CTSI Chair James Munro dedicated the event to Megan Lee’s memory. l

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OPINION

Kate Pike CTSI Joint Lead Officer for Vapes

Bad habits, good intentions A new push to stub out smoking is encouraging, but will require more resources for enforcement Rishi Sunak’s announcement of a strategy to create a smoke-free generation has cross-party support. The Chief Medical Officer has welcomed the plan to raise the legal age of smoking every year by a year so that eventually no-one can buy tobacco.

Public Health colleagues across the country have welcomed the consultation to make vapes less attractive and accessible to children while ensuring they are still available to adult smokers looking for an alternative to their extremely harmful tobacco addiction. But what about Trading Standards, our tiny local government service responsible for enforcement of age of sale legislation, and for lots of other tobacco and vaping regulation too?

CTSI has supported an increase in age of sale for tobacco for some years. We’ve recognised that it’s a uniquely harmful product that people become addicted to at a young age, and increasing the legal age of sale would lead to a substantial reduction

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in smoking prevalence. We had supported a one-time jump to 21 from 18 but recognise that the latest evidence suggests a gradual increase has many benefits, eventually resulting in tobacco not being able to be legally sold. We’ll be happy to work with responsible businesses to support them making the changes to their processes — and we’ll take enforcement action against irresponsible businesses who put profit ahead of their customers’ health.

At CTSI we’ve highlighted for some time that children are accessing vapes and that they are often attracted by the brightly coloured products and packaging, and the sweet flavours. We recognise the public It’s not going to be health benefit of easy and we cannot these products to underestimate the help smokers quit extra enforcement and we have asked responsibilities that regulations we will have are tightened

considerably — but also considerately — rather than a simple knee-jerk response which doesn’t take account of the evidence for what does and doesn’t work.

As one of CTSI’s Lead Officers, I know it’s not going to be easy and we cannot underestimate the extra enforcement responsibilities we will have — a share of the £30m per annum will help but we’ll also need really clear legislation that is enforceable and proportionate to the harms of the products.

I also know that it’s the right thing to do.

I watched my beloved dad die from lung cancer — he started smoking as a teenager when it was the normal thing to do, and gave up in his mid-50s. But by then it was too late for him — he died in his 70s after years of illness brought on by smoking. If we can support the creation of a generation where no-one has to die full of regrets for a habit that hooked them as a child, then we’re doing the right thing. l

Winter 2024

CTSI membership fees 2024 Annual fees (1)

Annual fees (2)

Standard fees 2024 rates

With direct debit discount 2024 rates

Full membership

£142

£132

Chartered Trading Standards Practitioner (addn. fee)

£50

N/A

Associate membership

£95

£89

Retired membership

£47

£44

(Not including branch fees)

Affiliate membership

£71

£63

Student membership

£43

£40

NB. Branch fees are collected nationally. Individual invoices will contain this extra amount where applicable. Current fees vary but in brief, for Full Members these are North Eastern £6.00, London £8.00, Midland, South Eastern £11.00, Yorkshire and the Humber, Scottish, South East Midlands, Northern Ireland and Welsh £5.00.

Southern, South Western, North Western and East Midlands, £zero.

Also, a charge of £10.00 will be included for members of the Business Members Group. Any applicable branch/section fee will be taken in the first instalment if paying by Direct Debit.

(1) Please make cheques payable to "Chartered Trading Standards Institute” A link will be supplied with your renewal to pay your subscription online. For BACS payments, please use the bank details on your invoice, and identify the payment using your six-digit member number.

(2) If you paid by Direct Debit last year, your discounts will automatically be given. Representative Example: Monthly Direct Debit.

0% APR Representative. Full Membership subscription £132.00, 12 payments of £11.00. Total amount payable £132.00. For further information and finance terms please contact CTSI, 1 Sylvan Court, Sylvan Way, Southfields Business Park, Basildon. SS15 6TH.

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Leading the trading standards profession

Read the definitive history of hallmarking and its enforcement This hardback book includes detailed coverage of specific prosecutions and a comprehensive index of more than 600 court cases, as well as a wealth of fascinating historical facts, illustrations and poems.

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“Robert Grice, an ex-Trading Standards Officer still passionate about hallmarking, has cleverly created a very readable, informative book… Through years of painstaking research Robert has created the most comprehensive list of court cases relating to precious metals. Individual victims and villains, regulators and rogues, prospectors and prosecutors all feature.”

— Silversmiths & Jewellers Charity

Copies of the book can be ordered from CTSI, with proceeds donated to the College of Fellows. For your copy email institute@tsi.org.uk. (£35 per copy + p&p) Payments should be made to:

Payee Account number: 06539203

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