Agenda item

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 tobacco.  A Fixed Penalty Notice or a fine could be issued if legislation was not adhered to.

·            The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act) was introduced to the UK parliament on 25 April 2023.  Although the DMCC Act revoked the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) which was currently one of Trading Standards key pieces of legislation, it had largely reinstated the powers with some changes.  The new legislation included commercial practices, misleading admissions and prohibited banned practices.  These changes aligned with the broader regulatory movement to crackdown on “Online Choice Architecture” or “Dark Patterns”.  Important changes to the list of banned practices were also made during the legislative process.  The government consulted on, and agreed to create new banned practices, such as giving fake reviews.  These additions bring the UK position closer to that of the EU where the Enforcement and Modernisation Directive (also known as the “Omnibus Directive”) brought in similar prohibitions on fake reviews and endorsements.  Although most of the existing banned practices constitute criminal offences, the new banned practices on fake reviews would not, so the main risks for businesses will be civil liability, including potentially large fines.

The Act also deals with so-called “drip pricing” practices.  Drip pricing is where only part of an item’s price is shown during the early part of the consumer journey, for example tickets for air travel and the total amount to be paid is revealed at or near the end of the buying process, by which time the consumer may feel committed to the purchase.  The Act also covers so-called subscription traps which it had been estimated cost consumers over £1.6 billion a year. The also Act included new rules for subscription contracts with consumers and the main consumer law provisions of the DMCC Act were expected to come into force in April 2025 with the new subscription contracts regime following about a year later in Spring 2026.

·            Trading Standards officers would get an extension of powers enabling them to apply through the courts for Online Interface Orders (OIOs) against traders that mislead consumers.  An online interface can be defined as ‘any software, including a website, part of a website or an application, that is operated by or on behalf of a trader, and which serves to give consumers access to the trader’s goods and services.  OIOs were important to Trading Standards because they make it easier to carry out investigative and enforcement action online.  Up until now, only the Competitions & Market Authority (CMA) had the ability to apply for an OIO.

The Chair thanked Anu Prashar for her report and welcomed questions from the Board, with the following noted:

·            Clarity was sought regarding the Renters’ Rights Bill and how this would be implemented consistently across other boroughs, as landlords in some other boroughs did not need to get a licence.  In response Gareth Jones advised that he would seek to obtain further clarification and feedback.

·            The Chair recognised the positive change in eliminating vape flavours that would otherwise be appealing to children and asked how receptive businesses were to this change.  Anu Prashar explained that there would be a phasing out period designed to focus the sale of vapes at tobacconists given the huge range of outlets, such as card shops, phone shops etc where they were currently available.

·            The Chair asked how the Service could take down websites that are hosted abroad.  Anu Prashar stated that the Service had contacts with international bodies that would assist in taking the websites down.

With no further issues raised, the Chair thanked the team for their hard work in compiling the reports and the Board RESOLVED to note the report.