Issue - meetings

Report ES17067

The Committee considered a report setting out the work of Trading Standards and outlining the proposed Trading Standards Service Plan over the two year period for 2017 to 2019.

The Bromley Trading Standards service had a clear vision which was to protect Bromley residents and businesses from unfair and unsafe commercial practice. During the past year, the achievements of the Bromley Trading Standards service included a number of successful fraud investigations, work to ensure the products sold in Bromley were safe and a range of test purchase operations using under-age volunteers to assess if local businesses were meeting the requirements in selling age-restricted goods and services.  The Trading Standards Service Plan 2017 to 2019 focused on a number of priorities which aimed to: protect and safeguard vulnerable consumers from fraudulent and financially abusive activities of rogue traders; combat the trade in unsafe illicit and counterfeit products and unfair trading; safeguard the health and wellbeing of young people by ensuring underage children were not sold age-restricted goods and services; and work with regulatory partners to combat rogue landlords and letting agents. 

The Head of Trading Standards and Community Safety advised Members that underage mystery shopping exercises had been undertaken to target premises that sold knives.  The Blade Safe responsible retailer scheme had also been relaunched and would feed into the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime Knife Strategy.  Trading Standards still worked closely with banks and building societies to identify potential victims of rogue traders.  Close working links had also been developed with the Bromley Fire Service to support firefighters and Trading Standards Officers in making referrals to each other in cases where Bromley residents were identified as being vulnerable to financial scams or fire risk during home visits.

The Chairman highlighted Members’ concerns around smoking prevalence among young people in Bromley aged 15 years which was higher than the London and national average. The Head of Trading Standards and Community Safety confirmed that this issue was a key concern and that a number of initiatives targeting underage smoking and ‘vaping’ of e-cigarettes would be taken forward during 2017/18.  This was supported by funding from Public Health which was provided on an annual basis in recognition of health benefits associated with the work of Trading Standards, such as through promoting responsible retail of age-restricted products.

The Chairman led Members in thanking the Head of Trading Standards and Community Safety and his team for the excellent work undertaken to protect vulnerable Bromley residents.

RESOLVED that the Portfolio Holder be recommended to approve the Trading Standards Service Plan 2017 to 2019.