Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of local authority funding reductions on the capacity of Trading Standards services to undertake proactive surveillance, routine inspections, and test purchasing over the past five years.

Local authorities across England, Scotland and Wales are independent from central government and are responsible for determining their resourcing priorities across a wide range of enforcement responsibilities in accordance with the needs of the local electorate.

The majority of Central Government funding is not ringfenced in recognition of local authorities being best placed to understand local priorities including those relating to consumer protection.

The Department for Business and Trade provides additional funding through the National Trading Standards Board (NTSB) and Trading Standards Scotland (TSS). These act as mechanisms to prioritise and coordinate national and regional consumer enforcement in England, Wales and Scotland respectively.