Idris

Last week I attended a meeting in Wales where Idris Jones was admitted as a life member of the Trading Standards Institute.  This is a rare honour and a fitting one, given his contribution to the profession.  Alison Farrar kindly shared a photograph of the presentation with me.  From left to right you'll see James Munro, Idris, me and Ken Yorston.

Just another manic Monday

I had a busy but productive Monday this week. First thing I met with Graham Russell and Sarah Smith from the Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO). It was really good to get their perspective on where the Institute and profession are, and how we address the challenges we face in a collaborative way. There are some real opportunities for us in areas such as policy development but this will only work if we are building on strong foundations of competence and partnership; as such, a lot of the discussion centred on this and on knowledge sharing.

It was then off to a meeting of the code sponsors panel for the TSI Consumer Codes Approval Scheme (CCAS). I get a real sense of excitement when I talk to code sponsors as there's a genuine sense of wanting to work together to raise standards in their sectors. Whilst we might have differing drivers the end aim is shared. Interestingly much of our conversation touches on the same topics as my earlier meeting: how we share intelligence about complaint patterns and practices, and how we take a collaborative approach to problem solving.

The afternoon was spent with Roy and Andy, our two executive directors, discussing the future direction of the organisation and how we integrate these new responsibilities into the day job. The one thing we were clear on, and I will reiterate it here, is that above all else we want to be a listening and open organisation. So if you have any thoughts about the Institute please let us know.

Two new brooms

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Alex Chisholm, who took over as Chief Executive of the Competition and Markets Authority in earlier this month.  This new authority will bring together some functions of the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission.  We had a wide ranging conversation about the roles of our respective organisations in the new consumer landscape, particularly about how we engender a real sense of collaboration.

Having met with him not only am I certain that they've made the right appointment but here is a man that we can do business with as a profession.  It was a genuinely refreshing meeting

The purpose of communications

Yesterday we had a senior management meeting about communications and were joined by Carol Brady from our board.  

It was a really useful session.  It enabled us to get a good sense of how the board sees communications supporting the work of the TSI.  It also gave an opportunity to reflect on what we are trying to achieve and the various means we use to communicate.  The short term priorities for us are a review of our website and front facing communications, such as Weekly Highlights.  Let us know what you think so that we can design something that meets your needs.

Kicking off with business education

I headed to London yesterday for a meeting of the TSI's Business Members Group.  I was pleased to be invited and I updated them on some of our current work, including the national conversation and the approved codes. 

One of the things we discussed was how we are now beginning to kick off on business education.  This was one of the functions that transferred from the Office of Fair Trading to us in the consumer landscape review.  It is clear to me that as a group that understands both commerce and regulation, the BMG could play a key role in helping us develop effective guidance.

Charles Wallace from the OFT introduced the current review of the Pricing Practices Guidance.  I was a very interested participant in his presentation and the debate.  Whilst the OFT are starting the work on this it will shortly transfer across for us to complete as part of our new business education role.  Hearing the range of views expressed it is clear that we have chosen a meaty one to begin our role on producing guidance.

National Conversation

As we reflect on what has been achieved over the last couple of years it is pleasing to know that the reforms introduced to the consumer landscape are being embedded in the evolving infrastructure. The Institute's work on both the new codes approval regime and the provision of business education and advice are progressing well.
I'm sure that, like me, you are genuinely pleased to see the operations and governance of the National Trading Standards Board firmly placed in the enforcement landscape and rising to the expectations placed upon them. There are still many challenges ahead, not least the need to ensure we have a joined-up regulatory system that meets the economic, growth and public confidence needs of the nation, people and communities.
Both our Council and Board have been heavily in engaged in considering this future and there is a real desire from the Institute to hold a robust policy position on what this should look like.  One of our key ambitions is to be a listening organisation and as we develop our thoughts we want to live up to this value.
To that end we are preparing to launch a second national conversation. Whilst the details aren't fully formed yet, we have produced a briefing note to enable members and other stakeholders to help shape the process. A copy has been circulated through branches but one is also available on our website. Let me know what you think.

Management team meeting

We had our monthly management team meeting yesterday.  Whilst we have the usual sorts of business conversations – such as HR or health and safety – we do try and find some space to take  a look forward. 

This time we had two key topics for discussion. The first was our new role in delivering business education work.   This is potentially a broad piece of work that will see us being the primary provider of advice on behalf of the Government.  Whilst there are many discussions to be had and challenges to be faced – such as who signs off our official guidance – this should not limit our aspirations to deliver a product that genuinely adds value to business, protects consumers and supports growth.

The second was about how we could work with our board in a more effective manner.  Whilst our council of members sets policy and appoints the board, it is the board that we work with on a day to day basis to run the business.    As with many teams when we come together we can often have a cramped agenda that does not facilitate free flowing discussions.  So in looking forward we are working out how we can balance discharging our statutory and governance obligations with the desire for us to be forward looking.  We will be taking some proposals to the board in May.  The good news is that board are up for exploring different ways of working. 

Just as a point of interest the Institute is looking to appoint new board members and the advert can be found on page 23 of April's TS Today magazine.  

Who needs a credit licence?

Yesterday I attended a Finance and Leasing Association conference on the future of Consumer Credit Regulation.  I participated in a panel session and my role was to help place the changes in the context of the new consumer landscape. 

A few things became clear to me as I listened to the other presentations and questions.

The first was that despite carrying authorisation to enforce the Consumer Credit Act for 25 years I don’t know enough  about credit and how the industry works.  It is vitally important that as regulators we understand the markets and sectors we support. 

The second was the realisation of what a challenge delivering the transfer from the Office of Fair Trading to the new regulator will be, in such a short space of time. 

Finally, I was struck by the thought that I'm no longer a regulator but I run a small business.  So all the questions, the doubts and the requests for certainty from the floor resonated with me as well. 

Back in the office today I have asked someone to find out what we need to do to be compliant with the new regime.  I'll let you know how that goes.

Loan sharking – let's work together to stamp it out

You only have to hear stories from victims of illegal money lending to realise to understand the dreadful impact that this crime has on some of the most vulnerable in our society.  It is something that we must all work together to tackle and I’m pleased to say that we are beginning to do this.  That’s why I’m happy to plug the current anti-loan sharking campaign in Scotland.  Details can be found at:

http://www.stoploansharks.org.uk/

Also if you want to find out more about the excellent work of the illegal money lending team and the stop loan sharking project they have a Facebook page at:

https://www.facebook.com/StopLoanSharksProject

Buy With Confidence

Wednesday was spent meeting with representatives of the Buy with Confidence Management Board.  It was good to spend some time with colleagues to hear their plans for the scheme and to also understand some of the challenges they face. 

We also discussed how the new consumer codes regime that we are responsible for interacts with local authority approved trader schemes.  It is clear that we haven't quite got that support right but after a positive conversation we were able to see a way forward. 

Launch of a new era

Hope you all had a good Easter break!

The 1^st of April saw me officially take over as the Chief Executive of the Institute.  One of the challenges of taking over from someone like Ron Gainsford is that in many people's eyes Ron is the Institute. 

As part of raising my own profile we have issued some press releases this week.  As a result I spent Tuesday speaking to journalists.  One was at Heart radio – we had an interesting conversation about shared areas of interest and how we can best use their target audience to get appropriate messages across.  There was a plea (of sorts) that we often target BBC local radio as a first port of call but local commercial radio often has a larger, and younger audience.

Another was an interview for the Cambridge Evening News, who had picked up the connection with me being a Cambridgeshire resident and ex-council employee.  It was really good to set out my vision for the Institute and the work going on across the profession to protect consumers and support growth.