Agenda item
Annual Report
This report details the work of the Trading Standards Consortium for 2016/2017.
Minutes:
SimonLegg,Service Manager, introducedtheAnnual Report, whichsummarisedtheworkand outcomesachievedby Brentand HarrowTrading StandardsService(TheTradingStandardsConsortium)for thefinancial year2016/17.
TheofficerupdatedtheBoardonworkundertakenin thepastyearand particular attention was drawn to thefollowing:
· three membersofstaffhadleft theserviceand afourth wason maternityleave.Theseposts hadbeenleft vacantin orderto achievefinancial savingsfor bothboroughswhich hadaffected theperformance of the Service in some areasof work;
· the budget of £313,170for 2016/17mentioned in the report was the netcost oftheservicetoBrentafterreceiptofincomeandnot theoperationalbudget;
· the servicehad recruiteda nationalproducer ofbeersand spiritsto thePrimaryAuthorityschemewhichprovidedassuredadviceto businesseswhopaid theCouncilfor thisservice.A totalof248hoursofPrimaryAuthorityadvicehad beenprovidedtobusinessesduringthe year;
· the TradingStandardswebpageshadbeenupdatedandnowhad alinkfrom BrentCouncil’sbusiness sectionmakingthe pageseasiertofindandincludedelectroniccontactpagesallowingenquiriesto besubmittedfromthe webpage;
· a triagesystemwasin placewherebythe nationalCitizensAdviceConsumer Servicesectionfilteredcomplaintsaboutbusinessesand referredthosewithcriminal aspectsto TradingStandardswhoapplied ariskassessmentmatrixto determinewhichones itcouldassist with.704 complaintshad been dealt with during the year;
· the implementationofa bankingprotocolhostedbetweenthe banks,TradingStandardsandPolicehadresultedina decreasein roguecold callersto theServiceas someofthesewerenow beingrespondedto directlyby the Police;
· there hadbeena Brentborough-widecrackdownon illegalshisha venues.Therehadbeena focusonillegaltobacco sales goingthroughthelegalprocess whichhad beenresourcedby publichealthfundingduringthe previousfinancial year.
Membersaskedquestionsaboutthecontentofthereportandtheofficerrespondedas follows:
· he undertookto ascertainwhethertherehadbeena responsefromthe HomeSecretaryto therequestby theBrentCouncilLeaderfor theintroductionofnew legislationto providelocalauthoritieswithbetterpowers to regulate andenforce problemshisha businesses effectively;
· if itwasconsideredbeneficial,TradingStandardscouldhost furtherLoanShark AwarenessEventsas theissue wasstill prevalent.In additionto NeighbourhoodWatch andothercommunitygroups, CrimeReductioneventshadbeenarrangedin conjunctionwithAgeConcern, branchesofbanksandWeeks ofActionin Harrow.In responsetosuggestionsby Members,considerationwould begivento hostingeventsforfaith areas,including intemples,whenthe programmefor thenext twelve months was compiled;
· workhad takenplaceby theCityof LondonPoliceregardingcyber-crimeandtheNationalTradingStandardsBoardeCrimeteam.Locally,internet basedinvestigations werecommonas somanybusinesses now had an onlinemarket place;
· whenthe newwebpageswereup andrunninga requestwouldbe made to link Harrow trading standardsqueries to the Brent website.
RESOLVED: That thereport benoted.
Supporting documents:
- 2016-17 Annual Report v2, item 7. PDF 58 KB
- Appendix A: 2016-17 Trading Standards Annual Report v1, item 7. PDF 1 MB