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Northamptonshire Trading
Standards is primarily a consumer protection and fair
trading enforcement service.
It is the major regulatory service of the County Council
enforcing a wide range of national and European laws through
both civil law and criminal law processes.
The Service has diverse
responsibilities covering laws which fall under nine broad
categories:
·
Fraud
(including rogue trading activities)
·
Age-restricted sales
·
Animal Health
and Welfare
·
Consumer &
Business Advice
·
Environmental
Controls
·
Consumer
Safety
·
Fair Trading
·
Food and
Agricultural Standards
·
Licensing and
Registration
If you have any questions about what we do or
if you would like some advice, please contact us using
the details below.
Our office opening hours are:
8.30am to 5.00pm Monday to
Thursday
8.30am to 4.30pm Friday
Trading Standards Service
Wootton Hall Park
Northampton
NN4 0GB
Consumer Advice
is available over the telephone
8.00am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday and 9.00am to 1.00pm
Saturday.
Please contact Consumer Direct on 08454 040506 alternatively
their website can be viewed at: www.consumerdirect.gov.uk
For face to face consumer advice
- please visit our office.
Business Advice
only:
Tel: 01604 707900
(Minicom available)
Fax: 01604 707901
e mail: tradestd@northamptonshire.gov.uk or use our online
contact form
Animal Health & Welfare:
We enforce farm animal
health and welfare laws to:
·
Prevent,
control and eradicate farm animal diseases
·
Protect the
welfare of farm animals in transit and at markets
·
Safeguard
human health from transmitted diseases
Licensing Section - Tel: 01604 707959
24 Hour Emergency Tel: 01604 707902
How We Performed and How
Much We Cost
Our overall performance continues to show an above average
workload from both complaints and the investigation of serious offences. As a consequence,
our inspection rates are lower but the cost of the Service compares favourably with
similar authorities.
In 2007/08 our cost was £2.80 net expenditure per person
in the county, making us one of the lowest spending county trading standards services in
the country. (ranked 29th out of the 33 county councils )
In terms of the work load during 2007/08 we handled we
ranked as follows:
Volume of consumer enquiries
and complaints
20th out of 34 (4,516 enquiries/complaints dealt with)
Volume of business advice
requests 22nd out of 34 (1,011 requests dealt with)
Volume of informal warnings
to businesses 3rd out of 33 (1,176 warnings issued)
Volume of formal cautions
11th out of 33 (with 23 issued)
Volume of prosecutions
24th out of 33 (27 prosecutions undertaken)
(the above has been
taken from data collected by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy)
Click here for more detail Quality of
our Service
-
The Service has the following key
strategic objectives:
- To contribute to
County Council outcomes and priorities by providing a risk
based service that delivers outcomes against local
priorities. Appendix 3 details how the Service contributes
to the County Council outcomes and priorities.
- To perform regulatory
functions which are aimed at achieving compliance with
trading standards laws and which protect the community
against malpractice and hazards.
a) better protect
themselves;
b) encourage fair
competition;
c) achieve
compliance with trading standards laws.
- To provide advice and
information to members of the public (in conjunction with
Consumer Direct East Midlands) and businesses in the
County to enable them to
- To promote standards
in trade which improve the economy, safety, environment,
health and welfare of Northamptonshire communities.
a) annual review of
the Quality Policy and Service Plan
b) delivering excellent customer
service including assessing customer needs and
satisfaction with the Service
c) investing in
staff
d) reviewing systems
and processes.
- To seek continuous
improvement in the quality of service delivery by
- To work effectively
with partner organisations to deliver better outcomes.
Service Plans
Each year we produce a Service Plan setting out our work for the coming year. This is
drawn up to reflect the views of our stakeholders and political priorities within the
County Council and obvious demands on the service. With the advent of the national Food
Standards Agency, the County Council is also required to produce a Food Standards Plan.
To view the current plans please click on the relevant links below.
We welcome your comments on our plans at any time, please
do so by emailing us.
Fees List
Please click on
the document link below to see our list of fees for
Verification, Calibration and hire fees from 1st April 2008
to 31st March 2009
TS Fees List 2008/09
Hire of Equipment
For a charge you may hire up to 134 of our 20Kg bar weights.
Please click on the link below for more details and an application form
Equipment Hire Form
Satisfied
with our Service?
Please let our staff know when we have done well, or if we
have failed to meet the standards you expect. Your comments are always welcome.
If you have serious concerns about the way our services are
provided please contact Bryan Lewin
- Head of Trading Standards
If you make a complaint about us we
shall acknowledge receipt of your complaint in writing within
5 working days. The letter
of acknowledgement will indicate the proposed date for a full response. If we fail to
satisfy you we will tell you how to take the matter further.
Northamptonshire Trading Standards is proud to have been
awarded the Charter Mark as this demonstrates our commitment to excellence in public
service delivery.
Please tell us your views on
our services by completing our confidential response form.
-
What would you like our priorities to be?
- What do you think about
our services?
- How
could we improve our website?
You can also help us improve by:
- Suggesting
ways in which we can develop partnership working
- Giving
us ideas on how we could improve
Consultation
Annually we ask our customers to tell us which of our
services they feel are the most important. We use their views to help us decide on what
our priorities should be for the forthcoming year and are reflected in our Service Plans.
To obtain a copy of the results of the 2006 consultation
please click on the links below.
Business Customer
Consultation 2006
Consumer Customer
Consultation 2006
This is a summary of the general enforcement policy of the
Service - it describes the principles by which we operate to ensure compliance with the
laws that we enforce.
General
- The Service's prosecution policy which forms part of the overall strategy for enforcement
and for dealing with infringements is summarised below.
- The main aim of the Trading Standards Service is to
encourage and maintain a safe and fair trading environment in Northamptonshire. The basic
role of the Service is in the area of regulatory control; we are responsible for the
enforcement of legislation. However, we also have a wide range of objectives and
activities which include the provision of advice to members of the public and promotion of
improved standards in trade.
- The purpose of enforcement action is to achieve compliance
with those consumer protection and fair trading laws, for which Northamptonshire County
Council has responsibility. Actions to maintain compliance with the law include detecting,
preventing and deterring infringements.
Principles
We direct enforcement emphasis towards those matters
presenting the greatest risk to health or safety, or to the economic or
environmental well-being of the community. This includes the inspection of premises and
the examination and testing of goods and services.
We respond to requests for information or assistance and to
allegations of infringement.
We provide advice and guidance to enable businesses to
comply with the law, having regard to nationally-agreed practices and procedures.
We set and publish criteria by which we decide the
appropriate course of action to deal with infringements.
We publish standards of service which members of the public
and businesses can expect to receive from us.
We maintain systems which are designed to ensure that all
aspects of our enforcement activities are carried out to a uniform and consistent standard
across the County.
We maintain procedures for dealing with complaints about
the services we provide and, where appropriate, for the rights of appeal against decisions
that we make.
Finally, we welcome feedback on our Enforcement Policy. We
try to incorporate any comments, which assist us to meet the main aim of the Service, into
future revisions. However, we are unable to amend or repeal legislation - nor can we adopt
a policy which contravenes a statutory duty.
For a full copy of our
Enforcement Policy, please click here
If you wish to comment on our Enforcement Policy or any
other aspect of the Trading Standards Service please contact us.
General
This is a summary of the prosecution policy of the Service;
it describes, in broad terms the criteria and basis for taking matters before a court of
law.
The Service's prosecution policy forms part of the overall
strategy for enforcement and for dealing with infringements. The enforcement policy of the
Service is summarised above.
Infringements
It is the policy of the Service, when
dealing with all infringements:
- to ensure uniformity, consistency and even-handedness; and
- to specify and observe criteria for alternative courses of
action; and
- to take action which assists the prevention of potential,
continuing or recurring infringements of a similar nature.
Enforcement action includes giving advice, issuing
public warnings through to seeking undertakings , injunctions, cautioning and prosecuting.
In addition, it may include the seizure or suspension from sale.
Decisions on the type of action which will be taken in
relation to a particular incident are based on the following criteria:
- the nature of the alleged offence;
- the seriousness of the alleged offence;
- the status, circumstances, previous history etc. of the
alleged offender;
- the reliability and scope of the evidence, including the
likelihood of the alleged offender being able to establish a statutory defence;
- the desirability, in terms of benefit to the community, of a
particular course of action;
- regard to the authoritative advice, guidelines and
recommendations;
- any explanation offered by the alleged offender and
willingness to prevent a recurrence.
Prosecutions
We recognise that most businesses wish to comply with the
law. However, there are occasions when action, including prosecution, will be taken
against those who flout the law or act irresponsibly. Those matters which involve
intentional, repeated or reckless acts and those concerned with public safety will be
specifically reported and considered for prosecution.
When a decision whether or not to prosecute is being made,
the principal criteria which will be considered are:
- whether the standard of evidence is sufficient for there to
be a realistic prospect of conviction; and
- whether a prosecution is in the public interest.
Having decided to prosecute, the policy of the Service is
to proceed without unnecessary delay and to select offences which reflect the seriousness
of the case, enable a court to exercise adequate sentencing powers and permit the case to
be presented in a clear and concise manner. In appropriate circumstances, applications for
confiscation of a defendants assets may be made under proceeds of crime legislation.
We take into account the relevant aspects of the European
Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998 as part of our decision-making
process.
For a full copy of our Prosecution Policy, please click here
If you wish to comment on our Prosecution Policy or any
other aspect of the Trading Standards Service please contact us.
Animal Health and Welfare
We enforce farm animal health and welfare laws to:
- Prevent,
control and eradicate farm animal diseases
- Protect
the welfare of farm animals in transit and at markets
- Safeguard
human health from transmitted diseases
Activities include:
·
The
inspection of livestock holdings and records
·
Provision of
advice and information to farmers, markets and hauliers
·
Checks on
vehicles transporting animals across the County
·
Attendance at
livestock markets
·
Post foot and
mouth disease licensing and associated controls
·
The
maintenance of contingency plans for rabies and anthrax
·
24 hour
telephone line for animal health matters
·
Partnership
working with DEFRA, Police, Vehicle and Operator Services
Agency (VOSA).
To speak to an Animal Health Licensing Officer
during office hours, please telephone 01604 707959 (8.30am - 5.00pm Mon - Thurs and 8.30am to 4.30pm
Fri)
The Service operates a 24 hour telephone
line for animal
health. The animal health team can be contacted on 01604 707902.
New and repaired equipment for trade has to be tested to
make sure it is accurate before it is brought into use. If you require our services, do
phone or click here to contact us online
When requesting this service by email please
give full information including a contact name, details of the equipment to be tested and
where it is kept.
Calibration
We also provide a calibration service for testing standards
of mass, volume and length to traceable Primary National Standards.
Public Weighbridges
We maintain a list of public
weighbridges in the County which you can download here. Public
Weighbridge List
If you operate a public weighbridge and charge for service,
or are considering the possibility, contact us
We issue licences and registrations which cover the
following:
- sale of poisons - Poisons Act 1972
- petroleum storage
- fireworks sales and storage
- explosives
- movement of farm animals
- performing animal registrations under the Performing Animals
(Regulations) 1925
Sale of poisons - Poisons Act 1972
The Poisons Act 1972 and the Poisons Rules
1982 prohibit the sale of poisons unless the seller is a retail pharmacist or a person who
has his name on the local authority’s list entitling him to sell poisons from the
premises named. The Poisons Act Guidance notes will go some way to explain whether
you need to register.
Guidance - The requirements of the Poisons
Act 1972 re Listed Sellers
If you believe that you need to register or
wish to renew your registration, then complete the application form and return it to us
with the appropriate fee (see guidance notes)
Your registration is renewable annually on
1st May.
Application to Register Name on the County
Council List of Sellers of Part II poisons
Explosives and Fireworks
If you want to store or manufacture explosives you will
need a licence or to register your premises. This applies to a wide variety of substances
and articles including.
- blasting explosives
- munitions
- ammunition and shooters powders
- fireworks
- marine flares
- pyrotechnic articles
- car airbags and seatbelt pre-tensioners
- party poppers
Where to apply
This will depend on the quantity and type of
explosive you want to store and where you live.
For more information about the
controls in place in respect of explosives and fireworks, please visit the Health and
Safety Executive website at www.hse.gov.uk/explosives
Food Standards
Consumers should be able to rely on the
information on food labels, and be confident that minimum standards are met. We are here to help businesses comply with the law
and to tackle misdescriptions and sub-standard food.
During the course of any year we would
expect to receive over 700 complaints and enquiries about food products. These may include concerns about the description
given to a food, the accuracy of the labelling and sales of out of date foods.
Because we understand that it is
difficult for the consumer to check the quality of the food they buy we:
- Sample a wide range of food for analysis or examination to
make sure the composition and labelling are accurate.
- Use our expertise to target suspect foodstuffs available on
the market.
- Remain alert for instances of food substitution e.g. calling
a food ‘lobster’ when it is in fact another species or perhaps selling a cheaper
brand of whisky for a ‘branded name’.
The quality of food you eat is our business so we regularly visit food premises
and carry out full inspections, which include safety checks that no perishable food is on
sale past it’s ‘Use By’ date. This
includes sales of food in shops, pubs, take-aways and restaurants.
We understand that businesses
may have difficulty in understanding the wide range of legislation controlling the food
market, so we use our expertise to offer advice and guidance:
- Sample a wide range of food for analysis or examination to
make sure the composition and labelling are accurate during inspections,
- Through business information leaflets, and
- We also welcome calls from businesses about their particular
problems
This way we hope to help Northamptonshire
businesses, both large and small, comply with the law in an ever changing market and
consumers can make informed choices about the food they buy.
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