Agenda and minutes

To be appointed from the London Borough of Brent membership for this meeting.

RESOLVED: That Councillor Daniel Kennelly (London Borough of Brent) be elected as Chair for the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Simon Legg (London Borough of Brent), Councillor Krupa Sheth (London Borough of Brent) with Councillor Bhagwanji Chohan substituting and Emma Phasey (London Borough of Harrow) with Gareth Jones attending on her behalf.

Members are invited to declare at this stage of the meeting, any relevant

personal or disclosable pecuniary interests in the items on this agenda.

None.

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting held on Thursday 6 June 2024.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 6 June 2024 be approved and signed as a correct record.

None.

No requests for deputations had been submitted for the meeting.

This report provides an update on the Service’s performance mid-way through the year highlighting some of the key achievements and some challenges faced.

Samuel Abdullahi (Senior Enforcement Officer for Brent Council) presented the mid-year review report for the year 2024-2025.  In presenting the report, members were advised it provided an update on the Service’s performance mid-way through the year highlighting some of the key achievements and some challenges faced, with the following points noted:

·            The Service received 2,163 service requests during this period from various sources, such as consumers, businesses, other local authorities and enforcement bodies.

·            The Service had responded to 69 business enquiries or requests for advice.  32 of these have been for the Brent Team and 37 for the Harrow Team.

·            The Service had delivered 25.5 hours of tailored advice to businesses in connection with product safety.  This related to physical and online compliance on clothing and electricals items and some product recalls were also initiated.

·            During the ongoing cost of living crisis, Trading Standards continued to enhance the safety of products and promote a fair trading environment within their boroughs.

·            One of the areas of concern had been focussed on the supply and sale of second-hand tyres (part-worn tyres).

·            The Service had continued to visit businesses to test weighing scales with 5 businesses having been inspected across both boroughs and it discovered the scales were in fact calibrated to the benefit of the customer.

·            The Service visited 31 businesses (17 in Brent and 14 in Harrow) that were considered as high risk or amongst the most complained about.  An Officer recently secured a refund of £1,500 from a car dealer in Harrow following a complaint received concerning the description of a vehicle.

·            Referrals were received from the Office for Product Safety and Standards and colleagues at the Ports about businesses in the borough either importing or selling unsafe products and the team continuing to work to ensure companies met the necessary compliance standards.  As an example, the Board were advised that officers had been working with a Harrow based company concerning a Climbing Arch product.  The company had carried out a product recall and were currently working with the team to ensure that the replacement being put on the market was safe.

·            The team have conducted online audits of agents actively advertising rental services as well as responding to complaints.  The team had examined the websites of 15 (10 Brent and 5 Harrow) businesses and inspected 6 agents (2 Brent and 4 Harrow).  2 of the agents visited, 1 in each borough had been issued with a Notice of Intent (NOI) to issue monetary penalties as they had been found not to comply or display their fees.

·            Operation CeCe (Illicit Tobacco Enforcement) began in 2021 to tackle the sale and supply of illicit tobacco products and a total of 22 businesses had been visited during this reporting period (15 in Brent and 7 in Harrow).  No illicit tobacco products were found at the businesses in Harrow, with the inspection including use of a tobacco sniffer dog. In Brent officers seized illicit tobacco from 10 of the businesses visited but  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

This report provides an update regarding current Parliamentary Bills and new pieces of legislation that the local authority has responsibility to enforce which will be undertaken by Trading Standards.

Anu Prashar (Senior Regulatory Service Manager for Brent Council) presented a report regarding current Parliamentary Bills and new pieces of legislation that the local authority had a responsibility to enforce which would be undertaken by Trading Standards.  The following points were noted:

·            On the 5 July 2024, the country saw a change in government and the King’s Speech on 17 July 2024 set out upcoming legislation and policy, which it was hoped would improve protections for consumers and legitimate businesses.

·            The Product Safety and Metrology Bill was introduced to Parliament in September 2024, with the objective of maintaining the UK’s global leadership in product regulation.  It was intended to ensure product development, including safety, environmental standards and information for consumers remained up to date and, where appropriate, aligned with EU legislation.  It was also hoped that this will result in clearer responsibilities for online sellers, providing stability and certainty for UK businesses around things like CE marking and international safety standards and this was crucial for better consumer protection against fire risks for example.  The Bill also updated the legal metrology framework, crucial for ensuring accuracy in weights and measures for purchased goods.

The Bill, which would cover almost all manufactured goods and affect an estimated 220,000 UK businesses also included mechanisms to identify new and emerging issues in the supply chain and would enable more effective sharing of data between regulators and market surveillance authorities, a function carried out by Trading Standards.  In addition, the Bill sets out powers that would be provided to the Secretary of State to introduce secondary legislation to cover these issues.  It was the detailed, secondary legislation which would impact on retail operations and supply chains.  It was expected the Bill would be enacted during Spring 2025, followed by secondary legislation by Summer 2025 and would also provide local authorities with extra power to investigate and act against businesses that sell unsafe or mislabelled products.

·            The Renters’ Rights Bill was introduced in the House of Commons on 11 September 2024and wouldabolish Section 21 ‘no fault evictions’ and strengthen tenants’ protections in the private sector.  Landlords will have to join a new Ombudsman service and should they fail to do this, they could face enforcement action from local Councils, ranging from civil penalties of up to £7,000 to criminal prosecution or fines of as much as £40,000 for repeated breaches.

·            The Government announced in the 2024 King’s Speech that it would bring forward a Tobacco and Vapes Bill to restrict the sale and marketing of e-cigarettes to children.  The Bill would also prevent people born on or after 1 January 2009 from ever being sold tobacco cigarettes.  This bill had now been introduced into Parliament and there were provisions for licensing for retail and sales of tobacco and vapes.  The sale of vape with flavours that were child appealing, would also be reformed to reduce their appeal with potential restrictions on the display and packaging of products, similar to that of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Members are asked to note the final date for the Joint Advisory Board in this Municipal Year as follows:

·             Wednesday 19 March 2025 at 6pm to be hosted (online) by the London Borough of Harrow.

NOTED the date for the next meeting is:

Wednesday 19 March 2025 at 6pm to be hosted (online) by the London Borough of Harrow

Notice of items to be raised under this heading must be given in writing to the Head of Executive and Member Services (London Borough of Brent) or his representative before the meeting in accordance with the constitutions of both councils.

None.