Huge cuts to the service which fights the sale of illegal goods could give rogue traders a ‘safe operating window’ in the evenings and weekends, a councillor fears.
Trading Standards is run by Lincolnshire County Council, with part of its remit to keep illegal cigarettes and tobacco off the streets, writes Local Democracy Reporter Jamie Waller.
The service is temporarily unable to pay for after-hours work while £140,000 of savings are agreed.
The Community Safety Committee on Tuesday (May 5) heard concerns that it would give a “safe operating window” to rogue traders in the evenings and weekends.
Council officers say that flexible working practices are being used to get around the current restriction, and they are attempting to continue enforcement.
A report on the proposed cuts says: “We believe that we can make inroads into [the proposed £140,000 saving] without affecting our staffing levels.
“However, in the short term, while the budget is reviewed and savings are identified, the service cannot approve the additional pay for the out of hours work.
“This is likely to impact on the number of closure order applications and age-restricted sales operations that the service can undertake as much of this work is completed outside of core hours.”
However, Coun Martin Christopher told the meeting: “Test purchases during normal office hours are not working, as that’s when rogue traders expect us to arrive.
“This is not an efficiency saving, it is tying the hands of officers and handing criminals a safe operating window on evenings and weekends without fear.”
Martyn Parker, the council’s assistant director of community protection, said overtime made a small amount of the proposed savings, and lieu time or flexible working was being used to mitigate it.
He added that staffing levels were unlikely to be affected by it.
The Trading Standards report found that the closure of shops selling illegal products led to a 16 per cent drop in violent crime in the area.
The organisation is focusing on getting shop landlords – who are often unaware of criminal activity – to kick out law-breaking tenants, rather than going after individual prosecutions.
One shop was found to be taking £600,000 in payments for illegal goods over the course of 10 months, equivalent to around £2,000 per day.
