Who We Are

Trading Standards is a small section within the Environment and Property Service Public Protection Group, and is responsible for enforcing wide ranging regulations to promote and maintain standards of trading and to protect the health, safety and well being of the local community and those that live in, work in and visit Swindon.

What We Do

The Trading Standards team is responsible for enforcing public protection legislation intended to protect both the public and legitimate business from unfair and unsafe trading practices. Core areas of work include the following:

Metrology

The science of weights and measures. Any equipment used to determine the weight or measure of goods sold by way of trade has to be examined and tested by a trading standards officer and approved as being ‘fit for use for trade’. From bread to coal and from petrol to beer, goods sold by weight or measure, have to comply with legal requirements

Fair Trading

Fair trading legislation includes a wide range of controls covering product claims, descriptions, prices, credit controls, unfair trading practices and many others. Examples of criminal behaviour, which has been brought before Swindon courts include:  

• False mileage claims applied to second hand motor cars
• Counterfeit designer clothing
• False claims in holiday brochures
• False claims that hire vehicles had 'insurance cover'
• False claims that cars had been 'fully serviced'
• Misleading claims that goods had been reduced in price
• Failing to make clear that goods advertised in the 'classified adverts' were being sold by way of a trade or business
• Product safety

There are a number of specific controls on the safety of products from toys, prams and pushchairs to construction products, electrical appliances and personal protective equipment. There are also 'general safety requirements' which require all goods sold to the public to be 'generally safe'. In addition to investigating complaints concerning unsafe goods, the team routinely makes test purchases and submits them to a test house to check against safety standards. Seasonal surveys are undertaken to ensure that toys, Halloween products, fireworks and Christmas products are safe. Examples of unsafe products that have resulted in legal proceedings include:

• Unroadworthy vehicles
• Unsafe children's aquarium
• Unsafe 'expanding dinosaur eggs'
• Flammable Halloween masks and capes
• Unsafe 'Russian dolls'
• Unsafe car jack
• Electrically unsafe 'Italian style rain lamp'

Agriculture Quality Standards

Ensuring that fertilisers and animal feeding stuffs are "wholesome" and correctly labelled and described.

Consumer Credit

Ensuring that consumer credit is offered only by licensed traders (and thus acting against unlicensed loan sharks) and that all credit advertising complies with legal requirements.

Under-age Sales

We are very active in the area of illegal sales of age restricted products to children e.g. Tobacco, fireworks, videos, solvents and National Lottery sales, and are constantly looking for volunteers to assist us.

Petroleum

It is essential that petroleum spirit, due to its highly combustible nature, is stored in accordance with strict licensing requirements to ensure the safety of both staff and the public. Swindon Borough Council is responsible for ensuring that all premises in Swindon that store petroleum spirit do so in accordance with licensing conditions. Petroleum sites are subject to an annual license fee and to routine inspection to ensure continued compliance by the Council's petroleum officer.

(See also: Petroleum Advice.)

Business Advice

Assisting businesses that seek information about their legislative duties and promoting compliance with trade regulations.

(See also: the Business Information section.)

Citizen Card

Assessing the age of young people as to whether they are old enough to buy age-restricted products is not easy. In 1999 a 'Citizen Card’ Proof of Age Card scheme was introduced to provide all teenagers aged between 13 and 16 with a proof of age card. In partnership with the Health Authority, Schools, Police and local businesses, now over 10,000 cards have been supplied and the scheme has been developed to include all young people aged 18 and under who are at school or who live in Swindon.

(See: the Citizen Card Section.)

How We Enforce This Legislation

Compliance is sought through routine inspection of business premises; taking of samples to check product claims and product safety. Advice and information on trading standards legislation is provided to the business sector and complaints about breaches of trading standards legislation from the public are investigated.

Please check our Enforcement Policy.