Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 3
3
There is insufficient coordination between the OPSS, local authorities and other parts of government.
Conclusion
There is insufficient coordination between the OPSS, local authorities and other parts of government. The OPSS works with a range of organisations to protect consumers from unsafe products, but the regulatory system is not well coordinated. The OPSS does not have a full picture of investigation and enforcement activity 6 Protecting consumers from unsafe products by local Trading Standards services and is therefore unable to align its work with local intervention. The OPSS has introduced some welcome new forms of support to local authorities, such as providing training and ensuring that all services had free access to product standards from the British Standards Institution. However, there is more the OPSS can do to work with local regulators to improve the data it collects and the coordination of enforcement activities. The OPSS, the Department and other parts of government are also not sufficiently joined up in tackling cross- government issues such as staffing and capacity challenges in Trading Standards services. Looking ahead, there is also scope for the OPSS to improve its influence and effectiveness by working with international partners to take a leading role on product safety standards, and by learning from more established regulators on areas such as understanding vulnerable consumers and measuring impact. Recommendation: The OPSS should work with the Department and other parts of government to ensure the regulatory system is better coordinated. In particular, it should engage with MHCLG and other relevant departments to address concerns around the long-term sustainability of the Trading Standards workforce. In their update to this Committee, they should explain how they intend to resolve this issue.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Spring 2022 3.2 OPSS recognises the fundamental role that local Trading Standards services play in product safety regulation and the importance of attracting new people into the profession. OPSS provides national capability to supplement and enhance the effectiveness of local authority enforcement activity. This includes: provision of scientific and technical capability; intelligence and risk capability to provide a national risk picture; national incident management capability; and Trading Standards capability building. OPSS engages with local authorities and Trading Standards bodies and their views and feedback inform OPSS’ delivery. OPSS is currently clarifying its offer to Trading Standards to facilitate greater understanding and co- operation. 3.3 OPSS was instrumental in the development of a new Regulatory Compliance Officer apprenticeship, working with the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) and other regulators to diversify entry routes into a career in regulatory services. 3.4 The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (the department) currently provides £12 million funding to National Trading Standards (NTS) and £1.25 million to Trading Standards Scotland per annum to add specialist expertise and to support trading standards to enforce cases that stretch beyond local boundaries. OPSS also supports Trading Standards through funding testing laboratories, training, national co-ordination and intelligence such as the Product Safety Database, sharing information on unsafe or non-compliant products, with 1,300 local authority users and 9 national regulators. Local authority regulatory services are funded from each local authority’s budget, in line with local decision-making, but OPSS will continue to inform central government discussions on maintaining the effectiveness of Trading Standards Services.