Supporting your business needs with a bespoke service

Transcription

1 Surrey County Council s Trading Standards Supporting your business needs with a bespoke service Making Surrey a better place

2 Surrey Count Trading Stand Surrey County Council s Trading Standards Surrey County Council s Trading Standards team has extensive experience of advising a variety of businesses from small family companies to international blue-chip corporations. Whether your business trades in Surrey or beyond, we can help you maximise profits. Consumer protection law means businesses have to meet certain standards, which include protecting your customers. Looking after your customers not only makes good business sense, but usually means that you will also be complying with the law and therefore not at risk of substantial financial penalties. Our Trading Standards Officers can help make compliance even easier for you, by ensuring your business is fair, competitive and legal. Our services are available Surrey County through three Council s options, enabling you to choose the right level of support for your business. 2 3

3 Option 1 Business Advice Business advice and education is a vital part of Surrey s Trading Standards service and the support available includes: l A business advice telephone and help line. l Face to face meetings to talk you through consumer protection legislation, statutory defences for criminal law, etc. l Information on changes to legislation which might affect your business. l Start-up advice for new businesses. l Signposting to other essential sources of information. l Advice about printed and online marketing materials including labels to ensure you aren t misleading your customers and breaking the law. The first time you use our business support it is free for the first hour, thereafter it will be charged, but at a very competitive rate. For example, businesses producing food or cosmetic products will be offered basic support on labelling for the first hour free of charge. However, requests for further bespoke, detailed advice on multiple labels will be provided for at the very competitive rate of 67 per hour or VAT per day*. Detailed advice on the content of your website, terms and conditions, etc, which take longer than 1 hour will be chargeable. Tailored training for your business on consumer protection legislation is available at a competitive half day or daily rate. Please note any advice regarding Animal Health matters remains free of charge. *Rates valid at time of press, subject to annual review in April. 4 5

4 Option 2 Home Authority Partnerships For businesses that trade beyond the county of Surrey, we offer a Home Authority Partnership. This allows you to seek advice from just one council. The Home Authority Principle encourages all local authorities to effectively liaise and communicate with a business s Home Authority before undertaking enforcement action. We already have many successful Home Authority Partnerships with Surrey-based companies who trade nationally and internationally. As part of this service we provide the previously listed support (Option 1) free for the first hour, plus: l An annual meeting to discuss business development needs, issues or concerns. l Basic guidance on new and current legislation. l Details of complaints or referrals from our colleagues around the country. Detailed advice on the content of your website, terms and conditions or tailored training for your business will be chargeable. Requests for advice from a third party acting on behalf of your business for example discussions with lawyers or consultants will also be chargeable. 6 7

5 Option 3 Primary Authority Partnerships (PAP) If your business operates across several local authorities you can enter into a Primary Authority Partnership (PAP) with Surrey County Council. This bespoke partnership will help you manage relationships with local authorities across the UK, simplify regulatory processes and reduce the cost of compliance. As well as significant financial savings, a PAP can also help reduce the risk to your business and ultimately ensure it is both profitable and productive. Surrey Trading Standards can work with your business to prepare a national inspection plan. This would give guidelines to other councils regarding the way your business should be inspected, to minimise unnecessary checks. The agreement will be registered with the Local Better Regulation Office (LBRO)* who will also specify the standards for this agreement. As part of this service we will provide all the previously listed free support, plus the following: l Single point of contact for all local regulators. l Primary Authority advice and liaison with other authorities. l A national inspection plan if required. l Detailed analysis of statutory defences. l Auditing of your procedures and processes as required. l Site visits in and out of Surrey l Access to a reliable source of information. There are many advantages of a PAP, including: l Financial savings the Government estimates that uk businesses could save 48 million per year through PAPs (source LBRO). l Reduced compliance costs. l Reduced risk. l Improved standards. l Fewer inspections, information requests and checks on your business nationally. l A guaranteed level of service and support. l Access to other sources of helpful information. PAPs are specific to your business and the services you need, therefore the charges will vary. The cost will include a basic annual fee, plus hourly fees related to the cost of additional activity or officers time. Full details about our business offers are set out in our terms and conditions. The Primary Authority agreement gives us consistency in complying with various regulatory requirements. This consistency allows us to make long term monetary savings by reaching practical solutions to any issues raised by other regulators Graham Timbers, General Manager, MRH Retail Support, 7/12/2011 The new partnership agreement should enable us to concentrate more on our business and less on red tape, while at the same time adhering to all relevant legal standards Eddie Gershon, JD Wetherspoon 16/11/ *Please note LBRO are due to transfer their functions to the BRDO (Better Regulation Delivery Office) in

6 How else can we help you? Trading Standards also operate three schemes that can enhance your reputation and give your business a competitive edge. Buy with Confidence Businesses on the Buy With Confidence scheme are vetted and approved by Trading Standards to ensure that they operate in a legal, honest and fair way. Advice under this scheme is currently FREE! Visit to find out how to join today. Support with Confidence This scheme helps people to make informed choices when selecting their social care, or purchasing goods or services linked to care and support. Residents can have the confidence that members of the scheme are reliable, trustworthy and understand and can respond to their needs. Examples of social care and support services found on the scheme include: personal assistants, home and gardening maintenance, shopping services, cleaning and housework or mobility equipment and adaptation. Visit to find out how to join. Eat Out Eat Well Could your business be recognised for its healthy food options? Surrey s Eat Out Eat Well Award rewards caterers throughout Surrey who offer healthy choices on their menus. Award winners can be restaurants, pubs, cafes, staff restaurants or schools. To find out how you can join this scheme for FREE today visit

7 Contacts and further information To find out more about how Surrey s Trading Standards Officers can help your business contact us today. business.advice@surreycc.gov.uk Tel: Fax: Web: Created by the Communications Design Team CS2185.NW.