§ Viscount Montgomery of Alameinasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many Trading Standards Officers are deployed at present in the United Kingdom and how many additional officers they consider will be required to monitor the 67,000 establishments that would be covered by the proposed voluntary code of practice provided for in Part III of the Consumer Protection Act 1987.
§ The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (Lord Young of Graffham)The purpose of the code of practice is to provide guidance to traders to help them to avoid misleading price indications. It would be a matter for each local weights and measures authority to decide in respect of local circumstances if it was necessary to monitor compliance with the code and the staff resources that should be allocated.
The number of trading standards officers in the United Kingdom is contained in the following tables:
Table 1 GREAT BRITAIN Number of qualified trading standards officers in post with local weights and measures authorities. Year ending 31st March 1987 England 1,207 Scotland 139 Walse 97 Total—Great Britain 1,443 Note: The figures have been collated from the annual returns of local weights and measures authorities.
Table 2 NORTHERN IRELAND As at 13th December 1988 Number of qualified trading standards officers in post 20