Hove MP urges ministers and councils to protect trading standards

The MP for Hove, Mike Weatherley, has signed a parliamentary motion in support of trading standards.

Mr Weatherley, the intellectual property (IP) adviser to the Prime Minister David Cameron, is the first Conservative MP to sign the early day motion.

It highlights the work that trading standards officers carry out to protect consumers and draws attention to the reduction of many trading standards services across the country.

Early day motion (EDM) 1290 also urges the government and councils to work together to find solutions to prioritise and protect trading standards.

Mr Weatherley said that in his role as the intellectual property adviser to Mr Cameron he had met many trading standards officers to discuss their work in tackling IP crime.

Trading standards officers work closely with local police forces as well as the Intellectual Property Office and the national Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit.

Mr Weatherley said: “Trading standards do a fantastic job protecting consumers from a whole host of illegal activity and are key to tackling IP crime.

“While providing trading standards services has a cost, they provide a valuable service to society and, in the long term, will help boost our economy through increased use of legitimate services.”

Early day motions are rarely debated but give MPs a chance to publicise issues.

EDM 1290 says: “That this House welcomes the Trading Standards Workforce Survey published by the National Trading Standards Board and the Trading Standards Institute (TSI); expresses concern at the cuts to local authority trading standards services of up to 86 per cent; recognises these cuts to trading standards put the public at risk of rogue traders, scams and unsafe products; believes that the government has a duty to maintain adequate consumer protection in the UK and therefore agrees with the TSI that the National Audit Office should look at the system of consumer protection in its entirety including local enforcement when reviewing changes to the consumer landscape; and urges the government to work with trading standards and local authorities to find solutions.”

Members of the Trading Standards Institute recently elected long-serving Brighton and Hove trading standards officer John Peerless as the organisations chairman.