Trading Places
Fostering understanding between local authority regulatory services and the businesses they monitor brings benefits for both parties. This removes cultural barriers to communication, strengthens working relationships, encourages mutual trust, and promotes a partnership approach to achieving compliance.
Officers now have the opportunity to step into their customers' commercial shoes via Trading Places. An intensive two-day study course at leading UK companies offers a great practical learning experience, plus valuable insight into how businesses are run and the challenges they can face in abiding by the rules.
This scheme is open to all environmental health, fire safety, licensing and trading standards officers working in local authorities, as well as businesses from any sector. It has backing from both sides of the fence, since it is endorsed by the CBI, British Chambers of Commerce, the British Retail Consortium, the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health and the Trading Standards Institute.
Trading Places was launched in March 2009 after extensive testing and evaluation, involving placements at Asda, B&Q, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Thomas Cook and Total. Further details are available below.
If you want to contribute to improving the effectiveness of local regulation, please complete the relevant registration form.
"I had the pleasure of meeting the participants on the first Trading Places pilot. I am immensely pleased that LBRO is launching this initiative to break down barriers, build a new relationship between the regulators and the regulated, and make our regulatory system work better for all concerned."
Sir Philip Hampton
Trading Places: Business Insight for Local Authorities
(17/11/2009 PDF - 1.2 MB / 8 pages)
Trading Places: Participants' Guide (25/03/2009 PDF - 2 MB / 20 pages]
To register for Trading Places please use the registration forms below:
Local Authority Registration Form
To view the list of forthcoming business placements, please click here.
"Both parties get a better understanding of how each works and an insight into the practicalities we all face on a daily basis. This is the best basis for working together; after all, satisfied consumers are the mutual goal of our brand and of regulators."
Müller UK Chief Food Law Advisor Sukh Gill -06/08/2009
"Taking part enabled me to assess just how consistent and robust a company audit process could be and whether it would lead to a reduced number of regulatory visits in future."
Carmarthenshire County Council Head of Public Protection Philip Davies - 17/11/2009
