Last updated:
30th December 2024
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Trading Standards Staffing and Capacity
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I would like to submit the following Freedom of Information request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 relating to your council’s trading standards service.
1. The total number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff employed in your trading standards service as of 1 April 2026, and the equivalent figures for 1 April 2015 and 1 April 2010.
2. Of your current FTE, how many are:
a) Qualified or accredited trading standards officers with full enforcement powers;
b) Trainees or apprentices currently in training;
c) Administrative or support staff without frontline enforcement responsibilities?
3. Has your council received, or been formally allocated, any share of the UK Government's announced £10 million per year investment in trading standards linked to the High Streets task force and the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026? If yes, please state:
a) The amount received or allocated;
b) The number of new posts it will fund;
c) Whether any of those posts are apprenticeships.
4. Does your council currently have sufficient qualified supervisors in your trading standards service to supervise and sign off the work of new apprentice officers?
5. How many retail premises in your council area do you estimate will fall within scope of the retail licensing scheme introduced by the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026, requiring registration or inspection by your trading standards service?
6. Has your council produced any estimate of the number of additional trading standards FTE required to fulfil its enforcement duties under the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026, including the new retail licensing scheme?
