This meeting was to discuss the work of the Joint Trading Standards Service in the context of a range of reports including the service's budget, and the enforcement of laws around the sale of vapes and tobacco.

Joint Service Budget

Councillors were provided with the Joint Service budget for 2024-25 for discussion. They were also provided with a forecast for the final outturn for 2023-24.

Trading Standards Vapes Enforcement Update

Councillors received an update on the enforcement of laws around the sale of vapes. This follows the government's announcement in January 2024 that it would ban disposable vapes, on which the committee noted that draft legislation had been published. Councillors discussed the national funding that had been made available for enforcement of the rules around vapes, noting that:

£5,000,000 [is] anticipated to come to Trading Standards nationally, possibly to fund apprentices into the profession.

Councillors also discussed the high volume of complaints about the sale of vapes, particularly to children. It was noted that, while the failure rate for online sales of vapes to children was around 10%, the equivalent figure for sales in shops in Surrey was 17%, and Buckinghamshire was 13%.

Councillors also discussed the environmental impact of vapes, and noted that a recycling scheme was in development.

2024/25 Half Year Performance (April to End September)

Councillors received a report on the performance of the service between April and September 2024.

Official Food Standards and Feed Controls Service Plan 2024-2025

Councillors received the service's plan for the enforcement of Food Standards and Feed Controls in 2024-25.

Action Tracker and Forward Plan

Councillors considered the committee's Action Tracker and Forward Plan. This included an update on the response to the letter sent to the Secretary of State for Justice following the committee's meeting on 10 April 2024.

The plan also included the proposed timings for the committee's meetings in 2025, and the topics scheduled for discussion at them. It was noted that in 2025, the committee plans to meet in April and September.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting [10 April 2024]

The minutes of the previous meeting on 10 April 2024 were available for discussion¹.