{"id":377973,"date":"2025-08-27T15:41:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T15:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/377973\/"},"modified":"2025-08-27T15:41:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T15:41:14","slug":"trading-standards-in-scotland-at-lowest-ebb-as-workforce-falls-sector-warns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/377973\/","title":{"rendered":"Trading standards in Scotland at \u2018lowest ebb\u2019 as workforce falls, sector warns"},"content":{"rendered":"

The number of trading standards officers working in Scotland has fallen to a record low \u2013 with concerns being raised that they \u201ccannot continue to protect Scottish consumers for much longer\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n

New figures show there are 249.97 full-time equivalent (FTS) officers in councils across the country \u2013 with this down more than half from 511.6 in 2002.<\/p>\n

The Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland (Scotss) noted it is the first time the number of trading standards officers \u2013 who are employed by councils across the country \u2013 has fallen below 250, with a warning that services are at their \u201clowest ebb\u201d.<\/p>\n

Scotss chairwoman Alexandra Connell added that trading standards officers\u2019 ability to do their job is now \u201csignificantly hampered by a lack of human resource\u201d.<\/p>\n

She was speaking as the Scotss workforce survey for 2025 made clear: \u201cWithout urgent Government intervention, Scotland risks losing the local authority trading standards service as an effective consumer protection and business support mechanism.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trading standards officers work to enforce laws to protect consumers, checking for unsafe or counterfeit products, but according to the Scotss survey, 58% of qualified officers are aged over 50, raising concerns retirements could see numbers fall further.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, it noted that 22 out of Scotland\u2019s 32 councils now operate with eight or fewer trading standards staff.<\/p>\n

This is up from 15 in 2013, with Scotss saying councils with fewer staff \u201cperform worse than larger services and have little capacity to improve\u201d.<\/p>\n

Ms Connell said: \u201cThis survey confirms what every Scotss member knows, that trading standards services in Scotland are at their lowest ebb and our ability to do our job is significantly hampered by a lack of human resource.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven the serious age demographic of staff, the service cannot continue to protect Scottish consumers for much longer without a serious look at how we operate and what funding is available.\u201d<\/p>\n

John Herriman, chief executive of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, said the findings of the workforce survey \u201cpaint a stark picture of the challenges facing trading standards in Scotland\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cThe current position is simply not sustainable for the future \u2013 consumers risk being left exposed to unsafe products, scams, and illegal sales, while businesses will be denied the support they need to navigate an increasingly complex regulatory landscape.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t just a Scottish issue \u2013 it is a UK-wide challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile trading standards teams go above and beyond to protect the public and support businesses, with the right investment, these services can deliver even greater protection, fairness, and confidence for consumers and businesses alike.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luke McGarty, head of policy and public affairs at the Scottish Grocers Federation, said: \u201cA well-resourced trading standards service is crucial for ensuring fair and consistent trading conditions for Scottish retailers and helps to ensure customers have confidence that what\u2019s on the shelves is genuine and safe.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, it is now clear that trading standards are facing a debilitating resource crisis.<\/p>\n

\u201cUrgent action by the Government is essential to ensure they have the workforce and resources they need to clamp down on the growing market in illicit trade and shut down rogue sellers pushing unregulated and dangerous products.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout action, the situation will only get worse, putting the public at risk and adding to the pressure already felt by many lifeline local businesses that are now having to compete against cheap illegal traders.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cosla, the body which represents Scotland\u2019s councils, has been contacted for comment.<\/p>\n

STV News is now on WhatsApp<\/p>\n

Get all the latest news from around the country<\/p>\n

Follow STV News <\/a>Follow STV News on WhatsApp<\/p>\n

Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country<\/p>\n

\"WhatsApp<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The number of trading standards officers working in Scotland has fallen to a record low \u2013 with concerns…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":377974,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5009],"tags":[748,4884,712,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-377973","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-scotland","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-great-britain","10":"tag-scotland","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115101491738145199","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=377973"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377973\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/377974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=377973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=377973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=377973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}