The Buckinghamshire Council and Surrey County Council Joint Trading Standards Service Committee met to discuss the joint service budget, the Official Food Standards and Feed Controls Service Plan, vapes enforcement, full year performance, and the Trading Standards enforcement policy.

Vapes Enforcement Update

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on Trading Standards' work on vapes, following up on previous reports. Of particular concern was the rise in nicotine addiction in children who previously did not smoke, with data showing that 7.2% of 11-17 year olds vaped regularly or occasionally in April 2024, compared to 3.2% in 2021.

The report in Annex A was expected to cover some of the latest legislative changes as well as the work the Service has been doing, and is planning, in this area.

The Environmental Protection (Single use Vapes) (England) Regulations 2024 came into force on 1 June 2025, banning the sale of single use vapes. Trading Standards was working on a project to raise awareness with retailers of the ban, including providing information to as many known vapes retailers as possible, making use of the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) guidance on vapes.

From April 2024 to the end of March 2025, the service received 205 complaints about illegal vapes and alleged underage sales of vapes, a decrease from the previous year, but still higher than any other area of work. The Service was continuing to do a high level of underage test purchasing of vapes (139 in 24/25).

During 2024/25, 13 warnings were given to premises who sold vapes to under 18s, and a further two cases were under investigation.

Joint Service Budget

The Joint Committee was scheduled to regularly review and set the Service budget. The information provided showed that the Joint Service outturn was an underspend of 1.9% (£53,319) against the budget for 2024-25. The primary reason for the underspend was vacant posts, as an attempt to recruit a qualified Trading Standards Officer in the late autumn was not successful.

The proposed budget for 2025/26 is £2,856,162, including pressures and savings. Both partner Councils have agreed their Medium-Term Financial Plans which cover 25-26 and these have informed the proposed budget for the Service.

The report noted that there are several factors which introduce volatility to the budget, including the challenge of accurately predicting income and its timing, especially where costs are recovered from prosecutions, or where market conditions are changing. The impact of the larger scale economic situation on businesses with whom they have Primary Authority Partnerships also makes income less certain.

The largest pressure for the Service going into 25/26 is pay inflation. Cost savings, by deleting posts where officers retired during 24/25 have been identified as follows: Deletion of three part time vacant posts (£80,000).

Official Food Standards and Feed Controls Service Plan 2025-2026

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) requires Trading Standards services to produce an annual Official Food Standards and Feed Controls Service Plan (known as the 'FSA Plan'). The overall structure follows guidance from the FSA and includes the necessary facts and statistics to ensure the document is valid as a statutory plan.

The Plan reflects the implementation of the revised risk scheme and Code of Practice that was introduced in June 2023. The service participated in the pilot run by the FSA that developed the new scheme. The new scheme presents a more dynamic and targeted approach to risks posed by food businesses.

The focus of the FSA Plan continues to be on those food issues that most impact on the health, nutrition and economic welfare of Buckinghamshire and Surrey's consumers, particularly the vulnerable.

The provisional resource allocated to the provision of the controls is £262,200, including staff and sampling costs, and is within the existing joint service budget.

2024/25 Full Year Performance (April to March)

The Buckinghamshire Council and Surrey County Council Trading Standards Service Joint Committee was asked to note the summary of performance of the service from April 2024 to end March 2025.

The information provided showed that the Service is performing well across the range of indicators where data is available. There are three new indicators where data is now available, and the disruption indicator remains under development.

During 2024-25, the financial impact of interventions related to scams and frauds was over £4.3 million compared to just under £3.2m in last year. The estimated financial impact of disruptive activities for 2024-25 was just over £2.4m and 154 disruption type activities were undertaken.

There were 160 live Primary Authority Partnerships at the end of March 2025, achieving the target for the year. A new indicator for this year is business satisfaction, which is measured through a voluntary satisfaction survey, and is currently extremely positive.

The data shows the Service is still undertaking a very high level of underage test purchases, and the majority of these are vapes. Recent indications suggest there is an improving picture with businesses telling test purchasers that they can't sell because of Trading Standards and no sales from 67% of attempts across the year.

Trading Standards Enforcement Policy

The Trading Standards Service regularly reviews its Enforcement Policy to ensure it remains appropriate and relevant to the regulatory and local authority landscape. The proposed Enforcement Policy provides an updated framework, responding to the possibilities and requirements of new legislation, to ensure that the Trading Standards Service promotes efficient and effective approaches to regulation without imposing unnecessary regulatory burdens.

The updates include amendments to ensure a growing range of enforcement tools and outcomes (including civil tools) are acknowledged, and to add, via a link, required information under the new Environmental Protection (Single-use Vapes) (England) Regulations 2024.

The Trading Standards Service subscribes to the principles and objectives of the statutory Code of Practice for Regulators (the Code) made under the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006¹.

Action Tracker and Forward Plan

The committee was scheduled to review the Action Tracker and Forward Plan. The tracker records actions and recommendations from previous meetings, and is updated following each meeting. The forward plan is subject to ongoing review and may be amended depending on external events and Government policy.