The role and number of trading standards officers is a matter for local authorities who fund and appoint them to consider.

BEIS officials regularly meet with stakeholders such as Chartered Trading Standards Institute, National Trading Standards Board and Trading Standards Scotland, as well as others, in relation to consumer policy enforcement. However, staffing levels are a matter for local authorities to decide.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) works closely with colleagues in local authority trading standards services to take action where products, including toys, are identified online that do not meet the UK’s product safety requirements. This work includes sharing intelligence with the National Trading Standards regional intelligence network and Trading Standards Scotland, as well as working directly with the local authorities that have enforcement responsibilities for product safety, including at the ports.

OPSS is currently conducting a review of the UK’s product safety framework to ensure consumers continue to be protected and that businesses are able to safely innovate and grow. As part of the review, officials have engaged with representatives from trading standards from across the UK, including Scotland. Representatives from trading standards have recently taken part in six roundtable events, which included reporting their experience of enforcement issues with online marketplaces. We will continue to engage with them and a wide range of other stakeholders as the review progresses.

Local Trading Standards Services are funded solely by local authorities, which are independent from central government. These authorities are responsible for determining their spending priorities and they are accountable to their local electorate. Funding is not ringfenced, so local authorities make decisions according to their individual needs.

The Department provides funding to National Trading Standards (NTS) and Trading Standards Scotland (TSS), to enable local authorities to take coordinated action specifically on consumer harm issues that cross local authority boundaries; for instance, doorstep crime and mass-marketing scams. We have provided a single enforcement grant of £12,027,000 to National Trading Standards and £1,215,000 to Trading Standards Scotland for financial year 2021/22. We keep the funding needs of both organisations under constant review.

Local Trading Standards Services are funded solely by local authorities, which are independent from central government. These authorities are responsible for determining their spending priorities and they are accountable to their local electorate. Funding is not ringfenced, so local authorities make decisions according to their individual needs.

The Department provides funding to National Trading Standards (NTS) and Trading Standards Scotland (TSS), to enable local authorities to take coordinated action specifically on consumer harm issues that cross local authority boundaries; for instance, doorstep crime and mass-marketing scams. We have provided a single enforcement grant of £12,027,000 to National Trading Standards and £1,215,000 to Trading Standards Scotland for financial year 2021/22. We keep the funding needs of both organisations under constant review.

The Consumer Protection Partnership (CPP), of which the department and Trading Standards Scotland are members, regularly meet to discuss consumer protection issues. The CPP brings together consumer protection organisations from across the UK jointly to identify and prioritise areas where there is greatest risk of harm to consumers and to agree and coordinate collective action to tackle detriment, making use of all available tools at the disposal of each member. This includes any EU Exit related issues.

In addition, BEIS officials hold regular discussions with Trading Standards Scotland to identify challenges any emerging areas of consumer harm.

In July 2021, the Department published the Reforming Competition and Consumer Policy consultation. The Department is currently analysing the responses and will respond to the consultation in due course.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) works closely with colleagues in local authority trading standards services to take action where products, including toys, are identified online that do not meet the UK’s product safety requirements. This work includes sharing intelligence with the National Trading Standards regional intelligence network and Trading Standards Scotland, as well as working directly with the local authorities that have enforcement responsibilities for product safety, including at the ports.

OPSS is currently conducting a review of the UK’s product safety framework to ensure consumers continue to be protected and that businesses are able to safely innovate and grow. As part of the review, officials have engaged with representatives from trading standards from across the UK, including Scotland. Representatives from trading standards have recently taken part in six roundtable events, which included reporting their experience of enforcement issues with online marketplaces. We will continue to engage with them and a wide range of other stakeholders as the review progresses.

The Department provides funding to National Trading Standards (NTS) and Trading Standards Scotland (TSS), to enable local authorities to take coordinated action specifically on consumer harm issues that cross local authority boundaries; for instance, doorstep crime and mass-marketing scams. We have provided a single enforcement grant of £12,027,000 to National Trading Standards and £1,215,000 to Trading Standards Scotland for financial year 2021/22. We keep the funding needs of both organisations under constant review.

The Department provides funding to National Trading Standards (NTS) and Trading Standards Scotland (TSS), to enable local authorities to take coordinated action specifically on consumer harm issues that cross local authority boundaries; for instance, doorstep crime and mass-marketing scams. We have provided a single enforcement grant of £12,027,000 to National Trading Standards and £1,215,000 to Trading Standards Scotland for financial year 2021/22. We keep the funding needs of both organisations under constant review.

The Department provides funding to National Trading Standards (NTS) and Trading Standards Scotland (TSS), to enable local authorities to take coordinated action specifically on consumer harm issues that cross local authority boundaries; for instance, doorstep crime and mass-marketing scams. We have provided a single enforcement grant of £12,027,000 to National Trading Standards and £1,215,000 to Trading Standards Scotland for financial year 2021/22. We keep the funding needs of both organisations under constant review.

The Department has provided a single enforcement grant of £12,961,000 to National Trading Standards and of £1,215,000 to Trading Standards Scotland for financial year 2018/19. We keep the funding needs of both organisations under constant review.