A new report, from the Association of Chief Trading Standards Officers (ACTSO), has found that local Trading Standards teams prevented £400m in consumer and business detriment in 2019/20, seized more than 5.4 million of unsafe or non-compliant products, supported 21,000 scam victims and prosecuted over 1,400 criminals.
Councillor Mike Thompson, portfolio holder for public protection at Hull City Council, said: “The work of our trading standards team is phenomenal. They not only protect residents against potentially harmful products from reaching the market, but also protect the trade and growth of legitimate and lawful businesses.
“The important work of our trading standards officers has been made even more challenging due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Their dedication and hard work during these difficult times is invaluable to our communities and I’d like to thank them for all their efforts.”
In addition, the report, Protecting the Public and Supporting Businesses, shows that in 2019/20 Local Trading Standards Services:
- Recovered £12.8 million in Proceeds of Crime
- Prosecuted over 1,400 defendants, leading to the handing down of over 375 years of prison sentences
- Saved consumers over £22.7 million by disrupting scams such as mass marketing frauds
- Seized over 2.7 million counterfeit products with a market value of £65 million
- Identified over 7,400 businesses supplying food that was misdescribed, did not correctly declare allergens, contained toxic or illegal components, or was involved in food fraud
- Tested over 7,000 business for or illegally selling alcohol, tobacco, knives or other illegal products. On average the failure rate was 20%
Read more here.
