The 2012 Olympics. A big thing for trading standards. Today I chaired a meeting of trading standards colleagues from the London councils and from local authorities outside of London who are hosting events.
Big concerns about the lack of resources to tackle the counterfeiters, ticket touts and other rogues who will look to hijack the Olympic Games opportunity to rip off consumers, UK and overseas visitors, and leave a bad taste in the mouths of those who will be here to enjoy the spectacle and the experience.
The good thing is that I can see the professionalism and resolve of trading standards practitioners kicking in. The bad thing is that they need much more real help from central and local government and from the Olympic authorities and business to be able to keep the Olympic parks and the hinterland fair and clean of consumer crime. I shall be writing to Ministers and others to press the case even at this late hour.
Monday 28 February 2011
Change Happens
So much happening in the trading standards arena that I can hardly draw breath.
The BIS consumer landscape review, the planned abolition of the OFT, Consumer Focus and more, the suggested centralising of enforcement by the Food Standards Agency, the creation of the new Financial Conduct Authority and the possible transfer of consumer credit regulation to Canary Wharf from the OFT.....are all but part of the turbulence we currently are navigating.
I was on Radio 4 You and Yours today. I was asked about the changes I had seen in my 40 plus years in trading standards and consumer affairs. There were many of course and setting up the OFT in 1973 was a big one. Now that is to go and I made the point that the changes being condensed into these past months and the next two years will more than outpace those of the previous 40.
At the same time my trading standards colleagues across the country are having to cope with increasing demand alongside decreasing capacity as funding cuts of 40% start to bite. Their will to win however remains undaunted and they will look to new ways to support the consumers and businesses that need them.
By the way - the Financial Conduct Authority was to be the Consumer Protection and Markets Authority. A pity somebody changed their mind because the 'consumer' word should be there!
The BIS consumer landscape review, the planned abolition of the OFT, Consumer Focus and more, the suggested centralising of enforcement by the Food Standards Agency, the creation of the new Financial Conduct Authority and the possible transfer of consumer credit regulation to Canary Wharf from the OFT.....are all but part of the turbulence we currently are navigating.
I was on Radio 4 You and Yours today. I was asked about the changes I had seen in my 40 plus years in trading standards and consumer affairs. There were many of course and setting up the OFT in 1973 was a big one. Now that is to go and I made the point that the changes being condensed into these past months and the next two years will more than outpace those of the previous 40.
At the same time my trading standards colleagues across the country are having to cope with increasing demand alongside decreasing capacity as funding cuts of 40% start to bite. Their will to win however remains undaunted and they will look to new ways to support the consumers and businesses that need them.
By the way - the Financial Conduct Authority was to be the Consumer Protection and Markets Authority. A pity somebody changed their mind because the 'consumer' word should be there!
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