Agenda item

This report provides Members with information of the key outcomes delivered by the Trading Standards Service from April 2023 to March 2024.

Anu Prashar (Senior Regulatory Service Manager for Brent Council) presented the annual report for the year 2023-2024. The report was a contractual requirement between the boroughs and highlights the service’s efforts in promoting a fair-trading environment for consumers and businesses.

Key points include:

Service Requests and Investigations: The service received 4,297 requests from various sources, including other trading standards teams, police, and businesses. Of these, 1,143 were further analysed, resulting in 331 investigations for Brent and 169 for Harrow.

Primary Authority Partnerships: The service provided 174 hours of advice in Brent and 20 hours in Harrow, marking a 36% increase from the previous year, primarily due to European market changes and product recalls.

Business Support and Compliance Visits: The service supported small businesses and conducted compliance visits (274 in Brent and 138 in Harrow). An example was shared where a business was saved approximately £30,000 by working with the service to correct product labelling.

Wembley Stadium Partnership: The service contributed to reducing illicit goods and illegal street trading at events, alongside working with Harrow’s teams on issues like the sale of knives and underage sales.

Product Safety: Investigations led to the removal of 16,000 unsafe children’s swimming vests from the market. The service also provided advice to businesses, saving them potentially £100,000 in losses.

Illicit Tobacco and Underage Sales: The service seized significant quantities of illicit tobacco and carried out operations to address underage sales of tobacco and vapes, resulting in fines for non-compliant businesses.

Cost of Living Project: The service conducted compliance checks on car dealers and energy-saving products, removing dangerous items from the market.

Lettings and Letting Agents: The service issued 15 notices of intent and imposed monetary penalties totalling £12,250 for Brent and £14,600 for Harrow, addressing overcharging and compliance issues.

Financial Investigations: The team secured 11 confiscation orders totalling over £1.165 million and issued restraint orders to prevent the dissipation of assets during investigations.

The Board asked the following questions regarding the report.

The Board Expressed appreciation for the report and noted the extensive activity being undertaken. The Board queried whether there were enough resources to handle the prioritisation of service requests, citing numbers in the report: 1,100 for Brent, 700 for Harrow, with 331 investigated in Brent and 169 in Harrow. The Board asked what would happen if the number of serious cases exceeded capacity, and if the team ever felt overwhelmed by serious cases. The Senior Regulatory Service Manager for Brent Council explained that the service prioritises the most serious cases, such as doorstep crimes, particularly those involving vulnerable individuals. Resources were allocated to deal with such cases, and regular reviews of complaints and ongoing investigations were conducted to assess the situation. However, it had noted that more resources would be helpful due to the costliness of investigations, especially in cases like doorstep crimes where expert assessments were often required. Building control resources from both Brent and Harrow were used to provide initial assessments before deciding whether to pursue a case further.

The Board asked for clarification regarding the cost of expert assessments and whether it was always necessary to engage experts, even if the case does not proceed to investigation.

The Senior Regulatory Service Manager advised generally; expert assessments do involve costs to the Council. While not all cases lead to full investigations, experts are sometimes required to determine whether a case merits further action. Building control teams are consulted initially to help reduce costs where possible.

The Board enquired about the issue of used vehicles, noting it was a significant concern in Brent and asked how resources were being allocated to address the problem. The Board also queried whether the increase in used vehicle complaints was linked to motor vehicle crimes.

The Senior Regulatory Service Manager advised it was noted that used vehicles have consistently been the most complained-about issue, largely because of the high volume of transactions and the difficulty in distinguishing between civil and criminal cases. Many complaints were civil in nature, while those with a criminal element were pursued. However, issues arose with some sellers who disappear or change details, making it hard to track and investigate further. The link to motor vehicle crime was unclear, as stolen cars would be handled by the police, though there had been past issues with misrepresented insurance write-offs.

The Board raised two questions. Firstly, on the discrepancy in Primary Authority partnership hours between Brent (174 hours) and Harrow (20 hours), and secondly, regarding investigations into the sale of chewing tobacco in paan shops and its impact on street cleanliness.

The Senior Regulatory Service Manager explained the disparity in hours were because Harrow has fewer Primary Authority partnerships compared to Brent, which had major clients like Ikea and River Island. Harrow had previously partnered with travel agents that went into liquidation due to COVID-19, resulting in a loss of hours. On the issue of chewing tobacco, it had confirmed that investigations were conducted where necessary, particularly if the products are improperly labelled. The issue of paan-related spitting was acknowledged, and it was noted that enforcement would occur if tobacco was involved. The environmental impact of spitting was also recognised as a concern.