Agenda item

The new Joint Trading Standards Service for Buckinghamshire and Surrey was launched on 1 April this year. The new service is able to provide a better service for residents and businesses in both counties whilst at the same time making efficiency savings and increasing income generation.

This report summarises the progress made in the first six months of the new service. It invites the Joint Committee to note the progress made, and to identify any issues which they would want to explore in more detail at future meetings of the Joint Committee.

The report also updates the Joint Committee on the range of national reviews currently underway looking at the future of the Trading Standards service and on how it contributes to both local government and central government priorities. It invites the Joint Committee to contribute to those reviews.

Declarations of interest:

None

Witnesses:

Steve Ruddy, Head of Trading Standards

Amanda Poole, Assistant Head of Trading Standards

Phil Dart, Service Director, Buckinghamshire County Council

Yvonne Rees, Customer and Communities Strategic Director, Surrey County Council

Key points raised during the discussion:

1.      TheHead of Trading Standardsintroducedthereport. Members were referred to the report which summarised the progress made during the first six months of the new joint Trading Standards Service. The report included an update on the background of the Joint Trading Standards Service and summarised progress against the key service priorities of Economic Prosperity, Improving Health and Wellbeing, Innovation, and Customer Focus/Resident Wellbeing. It also provided details of the range of national reviews currently underway looking at the future of the Trading Standards Service.

2.      An Advisory Member referred to paragraph 5.6 of the report and asked for examples of what coverage had been generated and how this had been achieved. The Officer informed the Committee that during the initial phases of the Joint Trading Standards Service, one finding was that the two Communications teams (Surrey County Council and Buckinghamshire County Council) were both involved in producing separate press releases which often generated local coverage. The two communications teams were working well together and as a result Trading Standards messages and stories were reaching a much wider audience. The actions of the joint service were being covered in both local authorities and significant National and International coverage is also being generated. Both authorities have benefited from the increased publicity resulting from the Joint Trading Standards Service.

3.      An Advisory Member explained that a monthly pamphlet used to be produced and sent to all parish councils in Buckinghamshire highlighting any Trading Standards issues and asked whether, as the pamphlet was no longer produced, there was a means of sending each parish clerk a monthly update. The Officer explained the Joint Trading Standards Service produced a weekly newsletter called TS Alert sent out to over two thousand email contacts including residents, businesses, community groups, charities, enforcement partners and local Councillors. It was agreed that the service would ensure that local Parish Councils in Buckinghamshire would be included in the circulation of TS Alert.

4.      A Member of the Committee said that the Trading Standards update should be sent to all voluntary organisations and those connected with the vulnerable in the community. 

5.      An Advisory Member asked how each Trading Standards service fed back information to the Health and Wellbeing Board for their respective council? The Officer explained that in Surrey County Council, there was good engagement with Helen Atkinson, the Director of Public Health and the wider Public Health team. Members heard that meetings also took place with David Pickering, Team Leader, Buckinghamshire to ensure that that there was a consistent approach across both authorities and that Martin Phillips was the Cabinet Member for Public Health in Buckinghamshire. The service plans to continue to build on positive relationships with both Public health teams. Examples of joint working to date included tackling Novel Psychoactive Substances (“legal highs”) and in promoting healthy options in initiatives such as Eat Out Eat Well.

6.      A Member of the Committee said he was in favour of partnership working with organisations such as Checkatrade but governance and assurance needed to be in place.The Officer explained that a lot of discussion had taken place about this partnership and it had taken 6-9 months to agree the framework.

7.      A Member of the Committee said the de-criminalisation of the TV license would have quite a big effect on some individuals such as single parents and vulnerable. Where does Trading Standards stand in the sense of supporting the de-criminalisation of the TV license based on this fact? The Officer advised that the de-criminalisation of the TV license didn’t directly affect Trading Standards, although it could free up some court time.  

8.      A Member of the Committee asked if the Joint Trading Standards Service Committee could become more involved with crosscutting issues such as the recent Volkswagen emissions scandal or whether this was beyond the remit of the Committee. The Officer explained that Trading Standards was not the regulatory body for emissions testing. However the service was involved in cases where it was challenging the legality and fairness of trading practices of major businesses. 

9.      A Member of the Committee asked how Trading Standards were advised of any suspicious activity in organisations such as banks and how this was directed to the appropriate body. The Officer advised that as part of an investigation Trading Standards sometimes worked closely with banks and that in several cases banks had referred suspicious activity to the service. In those cases the service had intervened to protect the customer. However it was recognized that more needed to be done to ensure that more referrals were made. An Advisory Member said it was felt to be over bureaucratic to have so many reviews of Trading Standards (BIS, LGA and the National Audit Office).

10.   An Advisory Member referred to the devolution agenda and asked if conversations needed to take place about opportunities for potential joint working and the impact and benefits for local services.

RESOLVED:

That;

    a.        The Committee considered and noted the update on the progress of the Shared Service and identified any issues they would like to consider in more detail at future meetings.

    b.        The Committee considered and endorsed the draft response to the reviews of the delivery of Trading Standards.

Action/further information to be provided:

The Head of Trading Standards agreed to look at the potential of adding the impact of devolution to the draft response. The draft document would be updated and circulated for sign off.