Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make it her policy to assess the performance of local authority trading standards bodies.

Trading Standards provide a range of services that fall under the remit of a number of Departments. However, Trading Standards services are delivered by Local Authorities, who are responsible for their operation and effectiveness. As Local Government is independent of Central Government, the Department for Business does not therefore have a remit to assess the performance of Trading Standards and would not therefore produce or publish league tables of such bodies.