Dave Thompson MSP

Dave Thompson, SNP MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, has raised a motion in the Scottish Parliament highlighting the urgent need for a stronger Trading Standards service.

The Accounts Commission recently published a report, Protecting Consumers, highlighting the fact that Trading Standards services have faced disproportionately high budget cuts, and now only account for 0.2% of council budgets throughout Scotland.

Commenting on this, Dave said: “I have raised this motion with the intention of securing a debate on what I feel is a vitally important issue.

“We have seen some very recent examples of the consequences for consumers with our consumer protection mechanism are not robust, and I am concerned that our current services are not being supported with enough resources to do their job.

“I believe that the best way to achieve this is to establish a national service, which will allow for better sharing of resources and staff.

Establishing a national service was one of the key recommendations of the Accounts Commission report, which suggested that around half of Scotland’s Trading Standards services did not have enough resources to perform their role.

Adding to this, Dave said: “I appreciate this is a time when councils face huge budget pressures, and unfortunately it seems that Trading Standards have had to bear far more than their share of this.

“A strong Trading Standards service is important not only for consumers, but it also protects the vast majority of honest businesses who would otherwise be undercut by rogues who are willing to cut corners.

Note:

Motion S4M-05590: Dave Thompson, Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish National Party, Date Lodged: 06/02/2013

That the Parliament welcomes the Accounts Commission report, Protecting Consumers; understands that the report has found that less than 0.2% of council budgets is spent on consumer protection; notes that it also suggests that trading standards departments have experienced a larger reduction in staff than others and that these services lack national standards and priorities; understands that nearly half of trading standards services may be too small to protect consumers effectively and that urgent action is needed to strengthen consumer protection in Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch and across the country, and believes that recent changes in the organisation of trading standards in the UK present COSLA, individual councils and the Scottish Government with the possibility of establishing a strong national system of coordination and allow them to explore a range of options for redesigning trading standards services, including establishing a national service.