The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) has called for a series of significant additional resources to support the work of Trading Standards in communities across the UK.
It comes after the CTSI published its “Helping Local Communties and Businesses to Prosper” manifesto with bold measure to protect consumers and to support local economic growth.
In the manifesto, it reported that over the last decade, spending on Trading Standards has been cut by over 50%. In an effort to build back the services, measures include an additional investment of over £100m over the course of the next four years.
The CTSI revealed that almost half of goods entering the UK are found to be unsafe or counterfeit, therefore it has called on stronger protections at UK’s ports and borders with an additional 400 staff, and greater resources allocated to undertake check on goods entering the country.
It has also asked to develop a regulatory system that supports business innovation and growth, which includes clearer legal duties for online businesses.
More suggested measures from the manifesto can be found here.
John Herriman, Chief Executive of CTSI who launched the Manifesto in Parliament said: “Our Manifesto sets out the bold and necessary action we believe is vital to protect consumers and law-abiding businesses. The UK’s Trading Standards profession is at the heart of protecting consumers, and we provide a significant layer of defence, but this layer has been decimated in recent years, with the consequence that consumers are at an all-time high of being ripped off, and susceptible to buying products that may be substandard, counterfeit or dangerous.
“Now is the time that we must build back the Trading Standards workforce so that consumers can once again be confident, which is vital for the UK’s economic growth and prosperity.”
The Association of Convenience Store (ACS) welcomed the manifesto and explained that the work of Trading Standards is essential in ensuring the safety and legitimacy of the products that retailers sell.
ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “The main theme of this report is a need for more resources to put Trading Standards services on a more sustainable footing. Trading Standards resources have been stretched to breaking point while the Government commits inadequate funding to deal with major issues, such as the illicit tobacco and vaping markets. We will continue to work closely with our Trading Standards partners and Surrey and Buckinghamshire though our industry leading Assured Advice scheme, and highlight the need for officers to have additional funding to be able to do their jobs effectively.”
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