Coventry Trading Standards Service - Quality of our Service

Service Pledge

Performance Indicators

Public Protection Operational Plan 2007 - 2008 pdf format (Adobe Acrobat)
Trading Standards Operational Plan 2007 - 2008 pdf format (Adobe Acrobat)
Food Service Plan 2007 - 2008 (pdf file)
Satisfied with our service?

Service Pledge

The Trading Standards Service is committed to providing the highest possible quality of service, under its control, and to that end we pledge that:

· We are committed to providing high quality, user friendly services, which meet the needs of our customers and show that we care for them;

· We will act in a fair and courteous manner in all our dealings with businesses and consumers;

· We will work in partnership with Consumer Direct, a Government funded initiative who offer initial advice and support for Consumers in Coventry. Consumer Direct is a telephone and online consumer advice service, which is supported by Local Authorities in the Central England Region, and by the Office of Fair Trading.

· If Consumer Direct is unable to help you or the matter is complex or you are reporting a potential criminal offence enforced by Trading Standards and Consumer Direct pass details to us, the information will be evaluated for further consideration, assistance or investigation;

· We will offer free and impartial advice on legal rights and responsibilities to consumers who are referred to us by Consumer Direct unless it is obvious at the outset that they live or are based outside Coventry, in which case they may be advised to contact their local Trading Standards Service;

· We will refer enquiries to other authorities / agencies such as Consumer Direct, where appropriate. If this is the case, the enquirer will be informed of the referral and given contact details if available;

· We will where resources permit and in appropriate cases, provide a second tier advice and intervention service to negotiate in civil matters for complainants who live in Coventry;

· We will provide a range of information / advisory leaflets for businesses and consumers, that are available by post and via the internet;

· We will investigate alleged breaches of Trading Standards legislation within, or affecting the citizens of, the City of Coventry;

· We will follow the Home Authority Principle promoted by LACORS (Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services) in order to achieve uniformity of enforcement between authorities and provide one stop advice and assistance to businesses;

· Where enforcement action leads to the possible prosecution of a trader, the necessary evidential and public interest tests will be applied before a decision to prosecute is made. Investigations will be carried out in accordance with the Regulators' Compliance Code.

· We will undertake programmed inspections of trading premises, based on an assessment of risk, to promote compliance with trading standards legislation.

· We will during office hours attempt to attend the home of a vulnerable person within 1 hour of being informed by Consumer Direct of the presence of a 'doorstep criminal' at their home;

· Comments, compliments and complaints about the Trading Standards Service will be dealt with in accordance with corporate guidelines, attempting to achieve customer satisfaction and service improvement;

· If a message is left on our voicemail facility we will respond by the end of the next working day;

· We will acknowledge letters that need a response within three working days and e-mails that need a response within two working days. If an enquiry is taken on as a full complaint, we will supply the contact officer's details and then keep the enquirer informed of any progress;

· A detailed response will be given to letters and e-mails within ten working days;

· We will make a full response to enquiries made under Freedom of Information or Environmental Information Acts within 20 working days;

· Calibration and test certificates will be issued within 5 working days of the verification or test date.

Performance Indicators

Performance Indicator	04/05	05/06	06/07	Commentary
Best Value Performance Indicator (BV166) for Trading Standards.	96.7%	96.7%	96.7%	Score against a checklist of enforcement best practice for Trading Standards Services.
Full complaints responded to within 5 working days.	98.6%	99.7%	99.2%
Overall satisfaction of customers with our consumer advice service	94.6%	94.3%	94.3%
Overall Business Satisfaction with Trading Standards	93.9%	95.4%	97.8%
% Of users who felt better equipped to deal with future problems	90.9%	91.9%	92.3%
Number of complaints and enquiries received from consumers and businesses expressed as a % of the population.	3.8%	3.7%	2.1%	The number of initial requests for advice have fallen significantly since Consumer Direct West Midlands started to take all telephone enquiries in January 2006.
% Of negotiated complaints successfully resolved	80%	83%	83%	Some cases in which we attempt to negotiate a resolution are unsuccessful. However we will continue to take on difficult cases, particularly from disadvantaged consumers. We cannot restrict ourselves to only backing certain winners.
%, and number, of 'High Risk' premises inspected	78.2% (68)	100% (66)	100% (56)	We plan to inspect all 'high risk' businesses at least once each year
%, and number, of 'Medium Risk' premises inspected	94.1% (874)	90% (877)	76.8% (690)	We plan to inspect all 'medium risk' businesses every two years.
Number (and % of required) Food Standards inspections carried out	714 (100%)	669 (100%)	645 (100%)	We have succeeded in meeting the overall inspection targets as laid down in the Food Safety Act Codes of Practice, which requires inspections to 'high risk' premises every year, 'medium risk' every 2 years and 'low risk' every 5 years.
Number of Food (Standards) samples checked / tested	508	451	519	This level of performance exceeds the minimum expectation of MAFF (and now the Food Standards Agency), which is 1sample/1000 population(.i.e. 301)
Prosecutions Total Fines and Costs	41 £56,000	36 £55,000	28 £59,000	In addition in 2006/7, 3 individuals were sentenced to suspended prison sentences, and, £200,000 of counterfeit goods were seized.
Formal Cautions	19	14	15
Departmental Warnings	27	25	32
Underage test purchasing attempts	9 sales from 62 attempts (14.5%)	29 sales from 136 attempts (21.3%)	33 sales from 144 attempts (23%)	In 2006/07 there were 5 convictions relating to underage sales. 2 related to alcohol, 2 to cigarettes, and 1 to a knife sale. In addition 19 fixed penalty notices were served in joint exercises with the Police relating to shop staff selling alcohol to underage children
Cost of TS Service/head of population	£3.82	£4:00	£4.33

Comparing Coventry Trading Standards Performance in 2006*

	Against Metropolitan Boroughs*	Against West Midlands Authorities*
Cost per person	3/29	6/12
Consumer advice given per officer	4/29	1/12
Prosecutions per officer	9/28	4/12
Formal Cautions per officer	16/30	3/12
Business Contact (inspections etc) per officer	8/27	2/12

*2005/6 statistics are the latest available

Back to top of this page

Satisfied with our Service

Tell us what you think

The City Council provides a wide range of services not only for people who live and work in Coventry, but also for visitors.

We would like to know what you think about these services so that we can make sure that they meet your needs.

So that we can learn from your views, we have set up the 'Comments, compliments and complaints' system.

What can I do?

If you have a comment, compliment or complaint about any of our services, please contact us by:

phoning us free on 0800 269 851;
filling in the appended form and sending it to us freepost to :-

Comments, compliments and Complaints (SH 202)

FREEPOST (CV3313)

Coventry City Council

COVENTRY

CV1 5BR

visiting one of our reception desks at :-

City Services Advice Centre

Broadgate House,

Broadgate

Tel: 024 7683 1832

City Development

Ground Floor, Civic Centre 4

Tower Block, Much Park Street

Tel: 024 7683 1212

Main Council Reception

Council House, Earl Street

Tel: 024 7683 3032

What will happen?

We will record your comments and use them when we plan our services.

If you have complimented us on a service, we will pass the compliment on to the people concerned.

If you have complained we will:

acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days;
deal with it in a positive way, treating it as an opportunity to put something right;
tell you who is dealing with your complaint; and
investigate and respond within 10 working days. If the investigation is still outstanding after this time,
we will send you a letter, explaining where we have got to and what we are trying to do to resolve
the matter.

Who else can I complain to?

You can also contact your local councillor or Member of Parliament to take up a complaint for you.

If you contact us on freephone 0800 269851 we can tell you who your local councillor or Member of Parliament is, and let you know how to get in touch with them.

If you feel you have not been treated fairly, you can contact the Local Government Ombudsman at:

The Commission for Local Administration

The Oaks

Westwood Way

Westwood Business Park

Coventry

CV4 8JB

Tel: 024 7669 5999

Coventry, Trading Standards Service, Broadgate House, Broadgate, Coventry, West Midlands CV1 1NH
Telephone Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06
Minicom users should call 08451 28 13 84
Business Advice 0845 330 3313
Electronic Mail to Consumer Direct