Trading Standards Service Performance Report 2024 to 2025
Contributing to Public Health and Wellbeing
- work has continued on Operation CeCe in conjunction with HMRC and other regional Trading Standards partners, looking into the supply of counterfeit and illicit tobacco across the region. This work has led directly to the seizure of almost 50,000 cigarettes and the closure of eight premises within the Borough, each for a three month period, under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014
- throughout the year, officers have carried out regular underage sales test purchase exercises with young volunteers. This is to check whether shops are selling age restricted products such as alcohol, cigarettes, vapes and fireworks, to underage children. There were nine positive sales from a total of 49 attempts, giving a failure rate of 18%. On two occasions the sale of a vape to a child volunteer was used as evidence to help secure a three month closure order against the shops in question
- a significant amount of work was undertaken during the year, looking at the safety of disposable vaping devices on sale within the Borough. Many were found on sale without the necessary approval from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency and contained over the permitted limit of 2ml liquid and 2% nicotine. Many also lacked the required safety information. In total officers seized over 7,000 non-compliant vapes
- officers have carried out checks at certain designated roads within the Borough covered by environmental weight restrictions. These restrictions are in place to prevent heavy goods vehicles from using unsuitable routes, in order to protect infrastructure, reduce congestion, protect the environment, and help keep pedestrians and other road users safe. Four monitoring exercises have been carried out, with 20 contraventions noted and investigated
