Home Authority Principle

We adhere to national guidelines (known as the Home Authority Principle) which require us to place special emphasis on companies resident in Stockton.  To view full details about the Home Authority Principle select the button.

Guidance notes and leaflets

From this page you can go to our Trading Standards guidance notes and leaflets by selecting the button

Or search the advice sheets and leaflet titles

This search will return all pages which match any of your selected words. Searching for 'food health' will find pages which include the words 'food' OR 'health' but will not find part words, for example, a page containing the word 'heal'. The search is not case sensitive.

From this page you can go to our licensing guidance notes and leaflets by selecting  the button

Business leaflets from other organisations can be downloaded or ordered by selecting the appropriate button

	OFT PO Box 366 Hayes, Middlesex, UB3 1XB Telephone 0870 6060321
	DTI Consumer Affairs Division 1 Victoria St. London SW1H 0ET Telephone 020 7215 5000
	A National Resource of training material, from Cambridgeshire County Council, supported by the DTI
	Food Standards Agency, Aviation House 125 Kingsway, London WC2B 6NH Telephone 020 7276 8000

We have adopted the Government's Concordat on Good Enforcement, which commits us to following fair, effective and consistent policies and procedures.  A copy of the Concordat is available by selecting the appropriate button below.

On occasions we have to deal with matters that may constitute a criminal offence, for which a range of actions may be taken against an individual, partnership or company.  These matters will be investigated thoroughly to establish all the facts and where appropriate Officers will use their legal powers to enter premises, take samples, inspect and copy records, or seize goods and documents.  On all occasions we will comply with the Human Rights Act and the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act.

At the end of our investigation a decision will be made whether to deal with the matter informally, or whether to follow a more formal course of action that may ultimately lead to prosecution.  How we reach that decision is explained in our Enforcement Policy for Regulatory Services.  To view our Enforcement Policy please select the appropriate button below.

Safety warnings can be viewed by selecting the  button

Scams take a wide variety of forms and they target both consumers and businesses.  Although there are some generic forms of scam, new variations appear regularly to evade enforcement or exploit new opportunities.

The best defence to scams is a high level of awareness and a healthy scepticism of all offers that appear to be to good to be true.

For further information on scams available on this website select the button.

The Consumer Direct website contains information on a number of current scams, and useful contacts should you fall victim to one.  Please select the button below to visit their website.

You can also make Trading Standards Officers aware of scams and rip-offs by visiting the Rip-off Tip-off website by selecting the button below:

We jointly fund the Tees Valley Measurement Metrology Laboratory with the other Teesside Authorities.  The Centre provides a range of services to businesses. For further information please select the button.

Our latest news pages can be found by selecting the button