Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local
Government
Fry Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF
T 030 3444 0000
www.gov.uk/mhclg
Ogmet
Date:
3 June 2019
Dear Sir/Madam
Freedom of Information Act 2000 -
4258651
Thank you for your request for information which was received on 23 May 2019.
You requested: "
Dear Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government,
I thought this query may be a matter for your attention. If I'm wrong please let me
know.
BEIS explain the following: ..Each local authority Trading standards do have
discretion as to whether, and to what extent, to investigate a particular complaint and
their decisions
are taken in the collective interests of the public, rather than the interest of the
individual complainant.
They also explain: MHCLG provides core grant funding to local authorities and that,
finances and priority setting for local Trading Standards teams is ultimately a matter
for local
discretion.
Is there not a conflict between Trading Standards statutory duties and local authority
Trading standards discretion? That one wishes to present evidence to the same,
where should a
complaint be directed? Is it to you?
A reference to any paper or electronic document held by you which deals with the
above would be welcome. That no such document exists; no provision exists, kindly
identify who to alarm?".
This request has been considered under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
I am writing to advise you that, following a search of our paper and electronic
records, I have established that the information you requested is not held by
the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government.
TEMPLATE FRAMEWORK – NOT TO BE USED FOR SUBMISSION
OF DRAFT ANSWERS
I can inform you that trading standards policy and funding responsibility is a policy
led by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). You may
wish to contact their FOI Team about your request. This can be reached at the
following email address:
xxx.xxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
If you remain unhappy after having been through the council’s complaints process,
you may wish to approach the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. The
independent Ombudsman is charged by Parliament with investigating complaints
from members of the public who have suffered personal injustice arising from
maladministration by local authorities. Further information on the Local Government
and Social Care Ombudsma
n can be found at: http://www.lgo.org.uk/.
Complaints procedure
If you are unhappy with this response, we will review it and report back to you. (This
is called an internal review.) If you want us to do this, let us know by return email
within two months of receiving this response. You can also ask by letter addressed
to:
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Knowledge and Information Access Team
4th Floor SE, Fry Building
2 Marsham Street
London, SW1P 4DF
If you are unhappy with the outcome of this internal review, you can ask the
independent Information Commissioner to investigate. The Information
Commissioner can be contacted at email addre
ss xxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx or use their
onli
ne form at ico.org.uk/concerns or call them on 0303 123 1113.
Yours faithfully,
MHCLG FOI Team