Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what representations he has received from (a) consumer organisations and (b) individuals on the effectiveness of Trustmark and NAPIT in protecting consumers from rogue traders.

TrustMark (2005) Ltd (TrustMark) operate the TrustMark Scheme. TrustMark aims to marginalise unscrupulous traders by identifying to consumers traders who have been inspected for both trade competence and good trading practice.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) receives a small volume of correspondence from individuals each year relating to TrustMark. These communications are passed to the TrustMark Board to investigate the actions of their Scheme Operators which would include NAPIT should the case arise. The Department does not hold records of communications about specific Scheme Operators as these are audited and monitored by TrustMark and not BIS.

In 2011 a consumer body provided views about the scheme to the Department; those views were fed into a review of the scheme which the TrustMark Board undertook in 2013.