Funding for trading standards

This is always a big issue for a small service especially when delivered by cash strapped councils who have now been told by the Chancellor that they can expect 27% less Government funding over the next 4 years.

The norm seems to be that trading standards services across the country are being told to find savings of 25%-40% which looks like the normal salami slicing approach towards council services that don't enjoy the funding protection of ring fenced money. So it was encouraging to meet with BIS, Business, Innovation and Skills, officials yesterday to further understand how the BIS 'consumer landscape' proposals might translate into funding support for reinforcing the trading standards role that Vince Cable has attached such weight to.

BIS will look to transfer current, and perhaps new funds currently held centrally, to local government to support the essential national enforcement role of trading standards in areas like illegal money lending, scams and fraud, intel, e-commerce, regional and national coordination and more.

These funds currently expire in 2011 but I could see yesterday how resolved BIS is to sustain that funding for at least the four years after that. That will send a strong message to local authorities and we shall want to ensure they look to reinforce their trading standards capability, not salami slice and disable it.