Trading standards and consumer protection

The request was successful.

Dear Birmingham City Council,

I make the following request under FOIA. Please can you search your records for the following information.

In relation to your trading standards service, or equivalent which enforces statutory consumer protection duties;

1) Please provide the number of FTE staff who are competent by qualification and CPD to advise businesses and enforce the following consumer protection matters; Fair Trading, Product Safety, Intellectual Property, Food Standards & Labelling and Weights and Measures.

2) In addition to the staff members listed in point '1', please provide the number of FTE who work for your trading standards service who advise businesses and enforce consumer protection matters but do not possess the qualification and CPD listed in point 1.

3) Please provide the number of investigations carried out under the below listed legislation, regardless of the outcome;

Prices Act 1974, Estate Agents Act 1979 (and associated orders and regulations made under Section 30), Weights and Measures Act 1985 (and associated regulations made under Section 86), Video Recordings Act 1987, Consumer Protection Act 1987 (and associated safety Regulations made under Section 11), Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, Food Safety Act 1990 (under Section 14 and 15 only), Property Misdescriptions Act 1991, Trade Marks Act 1994, General Product Safety Regulations 2005, The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, The Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008, The Cancellation of Contracts made in a Consumer’s Home or Place of Work etc. Regulations 2008, The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, The Cosmetic Products Enforcement Regulations 2013, The Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016.

4) The number of prosecutions under the legislation listed in '3', and including under the Fraud Act 2006.

5) The number of consultations conducted under s.214 Enterprise Act 2002.

6) The number of undertakings issued under s.219 Enterprise Act 2002.

7) The number of enforcement orders obtained under s.217 Enterprise Act 2002.

8) The number of confiscation orders obtained by or on behalf of the Council under Part 2 of Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

Please break down the information by calendar year, from 2010 to the most available figures at the present day.

Yours faithfully,

Rebecca Smith

REGFOI, Birmingham City Council

Dear Ms Smith

 

Freedom of Information Act 2000 – Request for Information

Reference No: FOI 15691

 

Thank you for your request, which was received on 26 October 2016, for
information held by the Council under the provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.  We will respond to you within 20 working days.

 

Where Birmingham City Council is the copyright holder of any information
that may be released, re-use for personal, educational or non-commercial
purposes is permitted without further reference to the City Council. Where
the re-use is for other purposes, such as commercial re-use, the applicant
should notify the City Council in writing to seek approval or agree terms
for re-use.

 

If you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact
me on 0121 303 9362, quoting the reference number above

 

SENT ON BEHALF OF:

Regulation and Enforcement – FOI

Place Directorate

Birmingham City Council

PO Box 16586

Birmingham

B33 3EH

 

Tel:  0121 303 9362

Email:  [1][email address]

 

"Locally accountable and responsive fair regulation for all - achieving a
safe, healthy, clean, green and fair trading city for residents, business
and visitors"

[2]http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/regulatoryc...

 

 

 

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References

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1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/regulatoryc...

REGFOI, Birmingham City Council

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Smith

 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION – FOI15691

 

I am writing in respect of your recent enquiry, detailed below, for
information held by the Authority under the provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.   Please see below our responses to you questions.

 

 

In relation to your trading standards service, or equivalent which
enforces statutory consumer protection duties;

 

1)    Please provide the number of FTE staff who are competent by
qualification and CPD to advise businesses and enforce the following
consumer protection matters; Fair Trading, Product Safety, Intellectual
Property, Food Standards & Labelling and Weights and Measures.

The table below shows the number of Fulltime Equivalent staff present in
the respective financial years. The second column indicates how many of
these were Trading Standards Officers having the Diploma in Trading
Standards Qualification. In Birmingham enquires related to Food Standards
are dealt with by Environmental Health consequently CPPD for Food
Standards has not been maintained within Trading Standards

YEAR TOTAL STAFF Weights and Measures Food Standards Approved
Competent

(TSO)
2015/6 29.32 FTE 7 TSO 0
2014/15 31 FTE 8TSO 0
2013/2014 35.1 FTE 8 TSO 0
2012/2013 35.32 FTE 8 TSO 0
2011/2012 39 FTE 8 TSO 0
2010/2011 57.72 FTE 8TSO 0

 

 

 

2)    In addition to the staff members listed in point '1', please provide
the number of FTE who work for your trading standards service who advise
businesses and enforce consumer protection matters but do not possess the
qualification and CPD listed in point 1.

Please note non-TSO staff are deemed to be able to give business advice
and enforce consumer protection matters ( excluding Weights and Measures
and Food Standards as stated above) based on other qualifications such as
Diploma in Consumer Affairs and Law Degrees and on the job training and
experience

YEAR TOTAL STAFF
2015/6 22.32 FTE
2014/15 23 FTE
2013/2014 27.1 FTE
2012/2013 27.32 FTE
2011/2012 31 FTE
2010/2011 49.72 FTE

 

 

     3)   Please provide the number of investigations carried out under
the below listed legislation, regardless of the outcome;

 

Prices Act 1974, Estate Agents Act 1979 (and associated orders and
regulations made under Section 30), Weights and Measures Act 1985 (and
associated regulations made under Section 86), Video Recordings Act 1987,
Consumer Protection Act 1987 (and associated safety Regulations made under
Section 11), Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, Food Safety Act 1990
(under Section 14 and 15 only), Property Misdescriptions Act 1991, Trade
Marks Act 1994, General Product Safety Regulations 2005, The Consumer
Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, The Business Protection
from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008, The Cancellation of Contracts
made in a Consumer’s Home or Place of Work etc. Regulations 2008, The
Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges)
Regulations 2013, The Cosmetic Products Enforcement Regulations 2013, The
Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016

 

We do not record the information in a manner that enables us to respond to
this question. Most requests for assistance (RFAs) that are received by
Trading Standards allege criminal activity .  However some of these simply
aren’t offences and we do not record on our RFAs what legislation was
allegedly infringed. whether the alleged offence existed or an
investigation was commenced.  To respond to this request every RFA and
inspection would have to be assessed and categorised. 

 

 

The table below shows the number of non-civil type enquires received by
Trading Standards

 

Year Investigations
2011 3682
2012 2861
2013 2337
2014 1741
2015 1605

 

 

 

4)    The number of prosecutions under the legislation listed in '3', and
including under the Fraud Act 2006.

 

Please see the attached.

 

 

5)    The number of consultations conducted under s.214 Enterprise Act
2002.

Consultation could include informal letter to a trader mentioning
Enterprise Act., We do not record separately anywhere that we may have
consulted under the Enterprise Act. To respond to this request every RFA 
actions  would have to be assessed and categorised. 

 

 

 

6)    The number of undertakings issued under s.219 Enterprise Act 2002.

Year Undertakings
2010 1
2011 0
2012 2
2013 2
2014 1
2015 0
2016 to date 1

 

 

7)    The number of enforcement orders obtained under s.217 Enterprise Act
2002.

Year Enforcement Orders
2010 0
2011 5
2012 3
2013 0
2014 0
2015 0
2016 0

 

8)    The number of confiscation orders obtained by or on behalf of the
Council under Part 2 of Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

 

Year POCA Orders
2010 11
2011 6
2012 4
2013 5
2014 11
2015 6
2016 14

 

 

If you are not satisfied with the response you may ask for an internal
review.  To do this, please contact Birmingham City Council's central FOI
Team at this address:

 

Corporate DP/FOI Team

Performance and Information (WS)

PO Box 16366

Birmingham

B2 2YY

 

Tel:  0121 303 4876

Email:  [1][Birmingham City Council request email]

 

If subsequently you are not satisfied with the Council’s decision you may
apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the ICO
cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure
provided by the Council. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at
the following address:

 

The Information Commissioner

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

 

Telephone: 01625 545745

Web Address: [2]www.ico.gov.uk

 

Data Protection Act 1998

The information you have provided within your Freedom of Information
request will be held on our database and may also be held within manual
records for a period of 2 years from the date Birmingham City Council
received your request. Any personal data that you provide to Birmingham
City Council will be held in line with the requirements set out within the
Data Protection Act 1998.

 

Re use of Public Sector Information

The information provided is subject to Birmingham City Council copyright,
however, it may be re-used for personal, educational or non-commercial
purposes without further reference to the City Council. If the re-use is
for other purposes, such as commercial re-use, you should notify the City
Council in writing to seek approval or agree terms for re-use. Where
Birmingham City Council does not hold the copyright, it has indicated the
copyright holder. Permission for re-use should be sought from them
directly.

 

 

 

SENT ON BEHALF OF:

Regulation and Enforcement – FOI

Place Directorate

Birmingham City Council

PO Box 16586

Birmingham

B33 3EH

 

Tel:  303 9361

Email:  [3][email address]

 

"Locally accountable and responsive fair regulation for all - achieving a
safe, healthy, clean, green and fair trading city for residents, business
and visitors"

 

 

 

 

 

 

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References

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1. mailto:[Birmingham City Council request email]
2. http://www.ico.gov.uk/
3. mailto:[email address]