Agenda item
Trading Standards Budget for 2010/2011
This report provides Members with information concerning the Trading Standards budget required for 2010/2011 which will enable Members to make recommendations to the main committee in each borough.
Minutes:
The Head of Trading Standards for Brent and Harrow presented a report which provided the Board with information on the Trading Standards budget required for 2010/11 that had been forecast in accordance with Clause 23 of the Consortium Agreement. He explained that as part of the agreement he was required, as the Head of Trading Standards, to produce a report detailing the implication of budget changes for members’ consideration and discussion.
Bill Bilon informed members of the Board that there was little scope for increasing income. He explained that deregulation had enabled manufacturers to verify their own equipment, which had led to a reduction in this source of income for the service. He stated that main source of income for the service was now from costs awarded against defendants following successful court convictions. He emphasised however that the cost of undertaking prosecutions had increased, particularly in cases where there was no alternative but to use barristers in matters that were heard in the Crown Court. Bill Billon explained that The Proceeds of Crime Act allowed prosecuting authorities to seize assets of those who benefit from criminal lifestyles, such as counterfeiting. However, he stressed that sufficient resources were needed to investigate this type of criminal activity and to conduct complicated financial investigations.
Bill Bilon stressed the need for prioritising the work of the service. He then informed the Board as to the required budget for the consortium for 2010/2011. He stated that, including an inflation increase of 0.75% from the previous year’s budget, the required budget was £1,714,046. This, he added, equated to £891,264 for Brent and £822,782 for Harrow. Bill Bilon explained that the Consortium Agreement required him, as Head of Trading Standards, to provide alternatives to the proposed budget for consideration by the respective councils. However, he stated that, in recognition of the current financial situation with both councils, he was not proposing to seek any growth in the Trading Standards Budget apart from the inflationary increase already mentioned. Similarly, he added that a decrease in the 2010/11 Trading Standards Budget would lead to a significant reduction in the service’s ability to respond to customer complaints, to deal with trader enquiries, to carry out proactive work and to achieve the upper threshold standard with respect to the new national performance indicator. Nevertheless, in order to comply with the requirements of the Consortium Agreement, he highlighted several options that should be considered along with the impact of any such increase/reduction in the 2010/11 Trading Standards Budget. Bill Bilon concluded by asking members of the Board to take note of the report and to discuss it with the main committee in each borough.
In the discussion which followed, a concern regarding the detrimental impact that a budget reduction could have on the service was raised by the Board. The Board noted that Trading Standards was operating an excellent service, as highlighted in the six months report, and that a reduction in budget could seriously affect the service’s ability to provide such a high standard of service for the residents of Brent and Harrow. However, it was also recognised that due to the financial climate, budgets in all service areas were under considerable strain and that reductions may be unavoidable. In acknowledgment of this fact, the Board requested that information be made available on what the potential impact on the service would be if a 5% budget reduction was introduced, so that the implications of such a reduction could be considered by the main committee for each borough. It was suggested by a member of the Board that the Chair may wish to write a letter to the relevant committees stating their consideration of this matter.
The high reputation of the service was noted by members of the Board. Bill Bilon informed the Board that a very positive article on the service, provided by Trading Standards, had featured in the Willesden & Brent Times and the Harrow Times. The reporter who wrote this article, he added, was also currently doing a follow up to this report for the next issues of these newspapers. It was asked whether any progress had been made in marketing the skills of financial investigators. In response Bill Billon explained that no progress had been made with regards to this issue, but that a London wide approach to this was currently being looked at. He added that he would feedback to the Board when he had more information on this. He explained, in response to another enquiry, that the £70,000 income, mentioned in the report, related to the costs awarded against defendants following successful court convictions. The proceeds of crime, he added, was separate to this as the proceeds of crime related to the seizing of the assets of those who benefit from criminal lifestyles.
The need to update the Consortium Agreement between Brent and Harrow Council was noted by the Board. In response, Michael Read (Assistant Director of Policy & Regulation)explained that Legal Services were currently working on this issue.
RESOLVED:-
i. that the report be noted and implications considered;
ii. that information be made available on what the potential impact on the service would be if a 5% budget reduction was introduced, so that the implications of such a reduction could be considered by the main committee for each borough.
Supporting documents: