Life story, a star and a princess

Someone once told me that we live in a world of strangers.  What he meant by this was, say that we bumped into our neighbour we might have the highly personal conversation about the weather but rarely do we get to know them in any more depth.  That's why it was good yesterday to attend a staff lunch for Ron Gainsford, so that we can show our appreciation for all that he has done for the organisation and profession.

During the lunch I had the pleasure to get to know some members of the team a bit better:  including a Polish Princess and the winner of our UK ECC employee of the month – although I'm not quite sure what a Polish princess is doing work for us. Maybe that one isn't true!  Laura, who won the award, is one of our consumer advisors and she was recognised for the work she is doing with Westminster Trading Standards with a trader who is causing a disproportionate level of complaints from visitors to the UK.  Well done and it shows we've a really good bunch of people working for us.

The main reason for the lunch was Ron and it was really enjoyable to hear him reminisce about his time in trading standards – especially his London-boy-in-the-sticks experiences.  He is a great man and he will be sorely missed by all here.  I've been left big shoes to fill but an amazing legacy to build upon.  The whole afternoon was one of warmth, which sums the man up perfectly.

Hope you all have a lovely Easter

96 photos and not happy with any of them

If you are like me and hate having your photo taken my morning wouldn't have been good for you.  As chief executive it is important that you have a high profile and support our work generating publicity.  To help that I spent an hour this morning having a number of photos taken for profile purposes, apparently the ones from Saturday night when I attend an 80's fancy dress party weren't up to the mark.  Unfortunately for me I wasn't allowed to Photoshop* them.

*In the interest of fairness I must point out that other photo altering services are available.

Update on codes and business education

I attended the first board meeting of the new Codes Approval Board.  As background the changes announced last year by Government saw responsibility for the consumer codes approval transfer from the office of Fair Trading across to the Institute.  Lots of work has been going on behind the scenes in readiness for the transfer on the 1^st April.   What is really pleasing is that, despite it moving from something that is free for codes sponsors to a product that is charged for, the vast majority of code sponsors have agreed to come on board.  This is not just a great testament to their faith in us as an Institute and the value that the brand TSI brings to the consumer world but also a ringing endorsement to how we have approached setting up the successor regime. 

Our prime driver is to improve standards within sectors, and balance the needs of businesses and consumers.  To achieve that we have established a not for profit community interest company, that means any assets are locked into a charitable organisation.  In this case our own College of Fellows.  We are establishing an independent board, code sponsor and consumer panels to drive our work forward.

We are now embarking on our work to provide business advice and education as part of the new landscape. 

Beer's not the most important thing

On Wednesday I was invited to speak at the annual Trade Association Forum conference.  I was there to let the audience know about our work transitioning the consumer codes approval scheme from the OFT to the Institute.  I believe that approved codes provide a real opportunity to add some meat to self-regulation and leave the rogues isolated.

The budget was screened live during the conference and Anthony Hilton (the Financial Editor of the Evening Standard) provided some pre-budget thoughts.  It was certainly interesting when the news of the Evening Standard publishing details of the budget online before the speech broke!  Whilst the news on alcohol and fuel were good news for me personally, as the Chief Executive of an SME I was particularly interested in the announcements on national insurance contributions and corporation tax and their impact on our business.

Also speaking at the conference was Jo Swinson MP, Minister for Employment Relations and Consumer Affairs.  She spoke with great passion about how we support diversity in the board room – so passionately that she convinced me to sign up to Inspiring the Future ( http://www.inspiringthefuture.org/) to give an hour of my time to speak to young people about my career and role.  She also showed great confidence in the trading standards profession in delivering reduced consumer detriment in the new landscape.

Back on the manor

For those who don’t know I am a bit of a London boy.  So it was with great pleasure that on Tuesday this week I attended the London Branch meeting and the regional Young Consumers of the Year final.

To the meeting first.  I welcomed the opportunity to hear from members about their concerns and challenges and it reinforced in my mind the need for us to have a proper national conversation about the future shape of our profession.  I was also interested to hear about a new business directory that Age UK are launching in London.  Anything that adds a layer of protection to consumers and a benefit to legitimate businesses has to be welcomed - but we all have a public duty to work together to ensure that we don’t confuse consumers about the various schemes that are in existence.  Further presentations centred on the need to work together and it was particularly pleasing to hear about how coordination on weights and measures is helping to develop new officers within London.

Seven teams entered the regional YCoY final and two well fought semi-finals saw four teams – Southwark, Hounslow, Greenwich and Islington - make the final.  It was a narrow victory for Islington after some intense questions and interesting answers – Bonnie Tyler being described as that old woman, or the Sistine Chapel as that big building!  So many congratulations to them and I look forward to seeing them in Brighton at the final.  The whole day was what it should be, fun and educational. 

The teams that didn’t win can comfort themselves in the knowledge that they now know probably a lot more that the Chief Executive of the Trading Standards Institute!

Welsh double!

In my time as Chairman of the Institute one of the things I enjoyed most were the trips to branches, especially when they coincided with another event.  So last March I found myself in Wales to speak at their trading standards conference and attend the regional heat of the Young Consumer of the Year (YCoY).  It was a thoroughly enjoyable couple of days and really pleasing to see such good support in Wales for the competition.  That's why I was really pleased to hear from Alison Farrar of the lovely Isle of Anglesey about this year's regional heat.  In an apparently nail biting finish Brynteg Comprehensive beat off stiff competition to win by one point.  I wish them well in the final that takes place at our annual Conference in June and congratulate not only the winners but also the other nine teams that took part.  The competition could not take place without the support of the schools, teachers, services and sponsors so I thank them all. 

As far as I'm aware that was the only competitive event of any significance that has happened in Wales this week.  Well despite being a hardened English rugby fan I don't think I can call the events at the Millennium Stadium as competitive!!

I am attending the London regional YCoY final this week and will let you know how the teams get on.

You can read the press release for the YCoY regional final here http://www.tradingstandardswales.org.uk/news/news-item.cfm/newsid/67

What’s in it for me!!

At Wednesday’s management team we had wide ranging discussions on a variety of topics.  One of these focused upon membership trends.  Clearly, as people are leaving the profession due to local authority cut backs, the number of full members has shown a decrease but is holding up well as a percentage of those still in TS services.  We do look at the reasons for members resigning and one of the worrying trends is that where local authorities have stopped paying membership this is as cited as a reason for not renewing – as someone mentioned to me recently “why should I pay membership when it’s my authority that gets the benefit of discounted training”. 

This blog could not go on to be a paraphrasing of the Life of Brian – 'what have the Romans ever done for us'.  I’ll avoid going in to the fact that we offer one of the cheaper membership rates about, that we bring a benefit to members that is several times the cost of their membership and that we offer a free conference.  

Instead I’ll reflect that having managed a number of services outside trading standards I can tell that they have a different approach to their training and development.  By and large they pay for their own membership, their own training and their own attendance at conference.  For those that have already renewed their membership I thank you. For those that haven’t, I would simply pose the question “whose career is it?”

In da house!

I attend my first event as TSI chief executive in the Houses of Parliament on Wednesday.  It was an All Party Parliamentary Group organised by the Citizens Advice.  These are reasonably informal meetings designed to help MPs and other understand the background to some of the key issues of the day.  Not only was this one attended by MPs but also representatives of business and consumer groups.  The focus of this meeting was the proposed changes to consumer rights and what that might mean.  Colleagues from BIS, CAB and Which? gave the back ground to the changes and the perspectives from their organisations perspective.  My role was to provide some context from a regulator’s point of view.

Anything that provides clarity in relation to consumer rights is to be welcomed and should help both consumers and businesses to understand their obligations.  The proposals contain a number of implications for local trading standards services.  Easing our ability to tackle cross board offences and authorisations is a must in the new landscape.  Consolidating our powers in a single set of powers can bring benefits as long as they are not diluted, especially with regards giving notice of entry.  Whilst the duty to give notice won’t impact on the vast majority of inspections – after all our first response to non-compliance is often to provide advice and give a period of time to correct issues – the ability to undertake unannounced visits does make businesses think twice about committing fraud.  As my old colleague Doug would remind me – “the uninspected deteriorates” (org. Dwight D Eisenhower)

Holding out for a hero!

Over the weekend I received an e-mail from Mark Ryder at Warwickshire about the Warwick Castle Half-Marathon. A group of seventy staff are running in this Sunday's race to raise funds for the Warwickshire Corporate Parents Association (don't worry I'm not going to plug every fund raising run!). 

What struck me here was that this was a group of Local Government Officers who have a responsibility for supporting vulnerable families, who are seeing their role outside the confines of the "9-5".

This made me reflect on last year's Conference and in particular the Hero Awards. I had the pleasure as Chairman of the Institute in presenting the awards and found myself inspired by them all. Particularly inspiring was the work of Cardiff fair trading officer Bas Diablos, who was recognised for his tireless work, much in his own time, to promote the work of trading standards and consumer education in the community. He, like Mark and the team In Warwickshire, sees his role as part of the community, not just providing services to them.

The work of trading standards services up and down the country are supported by, and delivered in partnership with, a wide number of partners and individuals. In these difficult times we may not be able to recognise their work financially, but there are many other ways to recognise this contribution. The Institute's Hero Awards provide such an opportunity. 

So if you know someone deserving of recognition nominate them at http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/membership/TSILocalHeroesAwards.cfm 

Good luck on Sunday Mark!

Week three and look at me!!

Don't worry, I haven't suddenly grown a massive ego – no more than I already have anyway! The title refers to the fact that today I was interviewed by TS Today editor, Sarah Juggins. It was really nice to have the chance to just chat about my background, hopes and aspirations for the Institute and profession. I won't spoil the article by revealing too much but suffice to say working together featured highly.

Elsewhere this week I have spent more time getting to understand the business's needs, attending ACTSO meetings and sitting on the M11 when it was shut yesterday – if only the Highways Agency was run by a TSO!!

In the office we have had discussions about our communications functions and what we need to deliver not only the Institute's work but the additional support we have agreed to provide to the National Trading Standards Board. Exciting times but really important that we get our messages right.

On Thursday I popped my head in on some discussions that Phil Owen (who leads for us on training and events) and his team were having with the Local Registration Services Association. Those who know me won't be surprised that I timed my popping in to coincide with lunch! We are pleased to be helping the LRSA deliver its membership services – after all it is another organisation supporting local authority members and services. Whilst talking about Phil's team it's good see the positive feedback that we've received about the Year Ahead held in early Feb – well done guys.

Have a good weekend and happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there.

De-regulation – a difficult meat to swallow?

As horsemeat contamination continues to hit the headlines I'm sure we will all face some challenging questions.  As previously blogged I attended a Heads of Service meeting earlier this week.  One of the points raised with me during main discussions, and in private, is that have we de-regulated too much.  The number of inspections and samples has fallen – partly due to falling resources and partly due to policy shifts. 

Policy makers have a balancing act to perform, minimising burdens on business against the need to have appropriate safe guards in place.  Stepping away from a focus on routine inspections to a more intelligence led approach has, in most cases, brought a bigger bang for the public buck.  Some would argue, however, that a move away from the routine has left the door ajar for greater fraud.  This is particularly relevant to the consultation on powers of entry.

Whatever your views it is important that any debate focuses on intelligence and reasoned argument, rather than sound bites, anecdotes and an unwillingness to collaborate.    We need to work together as policy makers and practitioners to ensure we manage this delictate balance act. 

Who needs a Trading Standards Officer?

On the way home from Solihull Tuesday I found myself listening to Radio 4 (how grown up am I!) and an expert talking about a Lancet study that found the UK was lagging behind in the health league tables.  He talked about issues such as alcohol and obesity as causal factors in this but made a clear statement that we were ahead of the game in terms of smoking and he put this down to good regulation.  Let us not forgot that at the heart of any good regulation are good regulators and trading standards officers up and down the country have been working hard to tackle underage sales of products for years.  We also have a key role to play in tackling alcohol abuse and obesity. 

I have a great deal of sympathy for Elected Members and senior officers in Local Government as they struggle to balance the books.  The public may not rise up and campaign for regulators like they do for libraries but the loss of basic protections can have a much more profound impact on their lives.  Tackling young people's access to age restricted products, protecting vulnerable people in their own homes, ensuring that purchases are safe, as described and provide the correct quantity – these are core fundamental rights and protections that every citizen should enjoy.  It is Local Government's duty to uphold these protections for their citizens.

Who needs a Trading Standards Officer – we all do!

Time for leaders to show their stuff and match Ron’s legacy!

I had the pleasure of attending and addressing the Association of Chief Trading Standards Officers (ACTSO) meeting.    It was good to see old colleagues and hear about the continued successes of the National Trading Standards Board in overseeing  grants and activity for national enforcement matters.

Before I set out some of my thoughts about how the Institute would move forward I was able to pay tribute publicly to the work of my predecessor, Ron Gainsford.  Ron has not only left me a business in very good health but has raised the profile of the profession and Institute greatly.  The faith that central government and others have in us can be traced to Ron’s hard work.  On behalf of us all - many thanks Ron.

Going forward I see an open and collaborative Institute – one where we will be prepared to take tough decisions and stances, but where everyone should feel that they have a voice.  There is a clear reliance on each other – strong services need a strong profession which itself needs a strong Institute.  But our institute cannot thrive without the support of the profession and services.

As I listened to a debate about our joint response to the horsemeat “crisis” I was greatly heartened to hear Heads of Service who, whilst being self-reflective and critical, were up for the challenges ahead.  As the leaders of our profession in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales face the challenges before them I offer them the full support of both the Institute and myself.

Week two, Roy and where's my bonus!!!

As I come to the end of week two I'm reflecting that I am no longer the new boy.  This is not because I have miraculously got my head around all the internal systems and processes we have, but on Monday we were joined by Roy Martin.  Roy joins us as our new finance director bringing a wealth of experience.  I can see from all the spreadsheets, graphs and charts he's looking at that our finances are in good hands.

Other than running a small business and looking after members concerns it is also important to support the wide range of people we rely on.  Our lead officers, for example, provide a valuable source of expertise and I see that we've put out a press release quoting Stephanie Young (our animal health and welfare lead officer) about the need to improve the animal passport system.  The full press release is available http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/extra/news-item.cfm/newsid/1082 On a related issue our network of President (the wonderful Christine Crawley) and Vice-Presidents do an amazing job of representing the needs of the organisation and wider profession and part of my week has been working out how we can better support them.

Finally I did note with interest that Antonio Horta-Osorio, Chief Executive of the Lloyds Banking Group has been awarded a bonus of £1.5m – albeit in deferred shares.  I wonder whether the Institute's board's drive for equity and fairness in the market place extends to executive pay!!

Have a good weekend

Leon