Annual Performance Report 2024-25

Overview

By Fakir Osman, Head of Trading Standards, Business Support and Innovation

It has been another busy year in Heart of the South West Trading Standards Service (HotSW TS). In order to make the best use of our resources, we focused on five priority areas during 2024-25:

• Scams
• Doorstep crime and rogue trading
• Animal health and welfare, including disease control
• Illicit tobacco and vapes
• Food allergens and standards.

Our interventions for victims of scams and rogue traders saved consumers over £138,000. Scammers continue to adapt and develop rapidly and our scams awareness posts on social media, which averaged nearly five a week over the year, aim to help inform the public of what to look out for. Emerging issues revolve around romance scams, cryptocurrency, malware and phishing and the use of artificial intelligence.

For rogue traders, the most common complaint types received include used cars and roofers/builders and we have successfully taken enforcement action.

Officers were involved in many multi-agency warrants and interventions which has led to the seizing of 290,700 illicit cigarettes and 168.33 kg of illicit hand-rolling tobacco, along with illegal vapes. Many of the premises raided have links with organised crime groups. Illegal vapes are a growing issue and we took part in Operation Joseph, a nationally funded intelligence gathering operation covering the test purchasing of ‘legal’ vapes, online test purchasing and storage/destruction costs. Some of the samples failed legal requirements and the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency have been informed. We continue to work with partner agencies to deal with and find innovative ways to disrupt these businesses which import and trade in illegal tobacco and vapes.

Supporting farmers and the rural community continues to be one of our key focus areas. An important initiative is the Future Farming Resilience programme. Sadly this was the final year of funding which has allowed us to provide vital access to support and provide information on mental health and wellbeing for farmers across the South West. This includes workshops, one-to-one advice at agricultural shows and venues plus wellness webinars and the bi-annual Trading Standards Farming Partnership newsletter. During the campaign, we reached 447 farmers in person and 60 online. This work was carried out together with colleagues from other South West local authorities and our Business Support and Innovation Team.

Our food allergens work continued with 75 samples procured from independent businesses. Those whose samples failed will be revisited. This area of work will remain a priority for us into next year.

Protecting consumers from harm through product safety remains a core objective for trading standards and we have been involved in, or have instigated, various product recalls, including a number of baby and children’s products.

In addition, our officers work across a large number of areas including paid-for business advice, metrology services/training, animal feed, safety at sports grounds and explosives/petroleum licensing in order to help protect our wonderful region and its consumers and businesses.

We are proud of what we achieve in our work but continue to face challenges with budget cuts, an ageing workforce and staff recruitment and retention.

Staffing

We have 0.021 Trading Standards Officers per 1,000 population and 0.446 Trading Standards Officers per 1,000 businesses.

The Service operates from six offices, which are located in Plymouth, Torbay, Newton Abbot, Exeter, Barnstaple and Wellington.

The year in numbers

• Complaints received and assessed: 12,128
• Complaints dealt with: 3,279
• Business advice requests answered: 395
• Other agency requests answered: 383
• Inspections completed: 1,197
• Alternative enforcement actions: 982
• Licences issued: 143
• Formal actions: 33

Supporting the local economy

Rural business surveillance and support

There were two outbreaks of Avian Influenza during 2024-25, one in North Devon and one in Teignbridge. Foot patrols, local letters and social media were all used to help contain the spread of the disease.

Under the Avian Influenza (Preventive Measures) (England) Regulations 2006, on 1 October 2024 the requirement for all bird keepers to be registered with APHA came into force. It is hoped this will reduce the work involved in the event of an Avian Influenza outbreak as we will have details of birds kept.

There were positive cases of bluetongue disease across the country and in February, the Bluetongue Restriction Zone was extended to cover parts of Somerset and parts of East Devon as well as Dorset and additional areas of Wiltshire. Officers worked with the APHA to obtain guidance for livestock markets, abattoirs and collection centres.

We completed 124 (70.1% of our target) Critical Control Point visits across livestock markets, collection centres, abattoirs and hauliers. Our officers continue to have a high level of presence at markets, offering advice and guidance where appropriate and we continue to monitor biosecurity procedures at animal gatherings to reduce the likelihood of animal diseases spreading.

Other work included:

• Animal welfare investigations.
• Partnership working with a number of other agencies such as APHA, RSPCA and the Police (Devon & Cornwall Police in Devon and Avon & Somerset Police in Somerset), and developing new working relationships.
• Dealing with a case of Bovine TB.
• Dealing with non-compliances at livestock markets and in livestock transport.

Mental health and wellbeing in farming

This was the second and final year of the Rural Support and Wellbeing project. Final stats are:

• 37 events delivered.
• 929 attendees across the events.
• 447 farmers reached in person.
• 60 farmers reached online.
• 19 agricultural shows attended.
• 7 engagement days at livestock markets.
• 15 webinars recorded and published on YouTube.
• 363 views of the webinars on YouTube so far.

Working with other agencies has been a big part of the project and new links have been forged. Organisations we have worked with this year include the Police, APHA, NFU, Fire Service, RABI (Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution), Forestry Commission, Farming Community Network, Business Information Point, Somerset Bowel Cancer and NHS nurses.

The team exhibited at a number of agricultural shows, answering farmers’ questions about support available, signposting to other support services, handing out our Bovine TB resource packs and talking to the public about Trading Standards topics.

The project has provided a solid network of support to the farming community across mental health, financial support, animal health and welfare, livestock management, animal disease control and (human!) health check-ups amongst others.

High to low priority premises interventions

Each year we carry out a risked-based, intelligence-led assessment of premises on our database identifying those which are high priority. We aim to visit 100% of these premises. This year we completed 100% of our food business interventions, non-food manufacturers interventions, firework inspections and petroleum inspections. ​​

Paid-for business support

Buy With Confidence (BWC) and Made in Devon

This year the number of BWC and Made in Devon businesses in our region fell from 320 to 244. While we have seen some member losses due to business closures and the ongoing cost of living crisis, we remain optimistic about the future. Application numbers are steadily rising, reflecting growing interest in the scheme and continued demand from consumers for trusted, Trading Standards Approved businesses.

We’ve delivered a national online campaign across Facebook and Google, targeting consumers looking for trusted local businesses. Regionally, we ran a successful campaign in Plymouth featuring a Heart Radio advert, supported by a digital display campaign to reinforce the message across multiple platforms.

We’ve actively promoted the scheme through events and industry engagement.

Primary Authority

This year we entered into three new Trading Standards Primary Authority Partnerships with large food manufacturers, in addition to agreeing the paid provision for three managed Environmental Health Primary Authority partnerships.

The standard minimum fee for a Primary Authority agreement in 2024-25 was £950 for 10 hours’ work. This provides a business with reliable regulatory advice that is tailored to their circumstances. A lead Trading Standards Officer works with a business, supported by a second Officer, providing advice and support on Trading Standards issues ranging from dealing with product recalls and complaints to advising on existing and new product safety and labelling.

We formed joint Primary Authority agreements with Environmental Health services at two local district councils. This offers business clients advice from both Trading Standards and Environmental Health services.

PA work this year included:

• Underage sales and pricing
• Product safety issues and recalls
• Advice given on a range of Trading Standards topics
• Weights and measures issues and advice
• Food legislation and labelling
• Liaising with Environmental Health Officers. 
• Contributing to national groups
• Helping to release goods at ports.

Calibration Services

Our metrology laboratory goes from strength to strength generating an income of £63,815.30 against a target of £55,000. We have customers from as far away as Norfolk and Kent. We also saved £18,823 by doing our own internal calibration work.

The lab successfully maintained its accreditation to ISO17025 with no significant issues found. The lab was complimented on its systems and staff competence.

This year we also raised £15,000 through our courses for trainees from other local authorities. These have been popular and this year were promoted by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI).

Feedback from course attendees includes:

“The course was brilliant. I had very little weights and measures knowledge before attending the course. Vic and John made quite difficult subject matter both easy to understand and engaging. In addition, the course gave me experience in weights and measures I would struggle to get anywhere else.”

“The hands-on approach to learning at the Heart of the South West lab was beneficial at such an early stage in my weights and measures training journey. Vic and John showed real enthusiasm towards weights and measures which is always helpful when learning a new subject. Vic and John were both patient in moments where I took a bit longer to complete the work to understand the work and answer questions which I appreciate. All staff were polite, kind and welcoming throughout both weeks. I would recommend this course to anyone looking to increase their knowledge of weights and measures.”

Supporting and protecting the most vulnerable

Scams awareness and prevention

This year we worked to raise awareness around:

• Emerging scams like ticketing fraud and investment scams.
• Christmas-related scams
• Support for scams victims
• Campaigns from Friends Against Scams, Citizens Advice, Stop Loan Sharks and other organisations
• Loan sharks.

Emerging and continuing scams issues are artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, investment scams, QR code scams and ticketing fraud.

This year we have continued our work to reach people in our communities who may not see our regular scams messages through digital means such as social media.

We placed articles in local magazines in Plymouth, Paignton, Exeter, Newton Abbot, North Devon and Somerset. We also placed adverts on pharmacy medicine bags. 25,000 bags were printed with our scams message and distributed through 25 independent pharmacies in towns that had not been reached by our magazine articles and which showed higher levels of scams complaints.

Officers also reached local communities by joining Devon & Cornwall Police at their police surgeries in Sidmouth Library, one of which was filmed for ITV West Country News.

In addition, our scams lead officer spoke on BBC Radio in Devon and Somerset, as well as Greatest Hits Radio, and attended the BBC Scams Safe Week roadshow in Exeter Library.

Cases officers dealt with included:

• Working with Plymouth social services and the police to support a Plymouth resident who had been a repeat victim of romance scams, with our officer providing advice and help around these scams.
• Providing support to a Devon resident who lost £80,000 in a scam. (He was eventually fully refunded by his bank.)
• Installing a call blocker at the home of a Somerset resident who has been a victim of scams and rogue traders.
• Supporting a Devon business whose name and photos were being used by another trader.
• Along with Devon & Cornwall Police, working in partnership with the England Illegal Money Lending Team which prosecuted an illegal money lender: Exeter carer who acted as a loan shark is given community order.

​We continue to send out consumer and business newsletters which often contain articles about scams.

Key stats:

• Amount saved for scam victims: £86,995
• Number of times our Scams lead officer has spoken on local radio about scams: 3
• Scams-related social media posts: 257
• Scams-related press releases: 2
• Newsletters containing scams articles: 9.

Doorstep crime and rogue traders

Officers dealt with 334 doorstep crime and rogue trader complaints, over 50% of which were roofing/roofing insulation related. Work around these incidents included enforcement work, live call outs and victim support.

Other work this year included:

• Neil James Pardon, of Peverell, Plymouth, was banned from running any company for five years. He had pled guilty to participating in a fraudulent business contrary to section 993.1 of the Companies Act 2006 between 2 August 2022 and 13 April 2023: Plymouth solar panel boss gave ‘series of lies’ to customers.
• Two cases awaiting sentencing.
• Five cases have resulted in charges being laid and are now working their way through the courts.
• 13 ongoing investigations.
• Assistance to Avon & Somerset Police for one of their cases.
• One referral to the Regional Investigation Team.
• Innovative work: we used Facebook’s Community Standards to get a rogue builder’s profile removed as a disruption tool.
• We issued a press release on a spray foam insulation removal scam.
• Three road stop-check operations with police and other enforcement agencies.

Key stats:

• £4,900 prevented from being handed over to doorstep criminals
• Refunds of £36,132.87 for consumers.

Fair trading

Officers worked on 284 fair trading complaints, 173 of which were about used cars. The most complained about used car traders were visited and provided with advice. The advice was well received.

Officers visited a large car boot sale in Somerset assisted by the Police and Intellectual Property Office (IPO). Two stalls were prioritised for action on the day and over £7,500 of counterfeit footwear (mainly Nike and Ugg) was removed from one stall. A second stall had more than £10,000 worth of counterfeit footwear and cosmetics removed. The brands included Dior, Chanel, Lacoste and many others.

The Service has engaged with ‘self store’ businesses as part of the IPO’s “Tick Box” project. The idea is to seek businesses’ support in reporting individuals using such facilities to store (and sell on) counterfeit items.

The ‘Renters Rights’ bill was laid before Parliament and is likely to become law in September 2025. The aim of this Act will be to bolster rights for the estimated 11 million UK renters.

Despite the significant number of Trading Standards investigations making their way through the courts, we continue to encounter backlogs and adjournments. Despite this, a number of notable results have been achieved:

• The prosecution of Neil James Pardon, of Peverell, Plymouth (mentioned above under ‘Doorstep crime and rogue traders’). A Proceeds of Crime Act confiscation hearing is also being carried out.
• A UPVc and conservatories seller from Plymouth entered a guilty plea in August 2024 and we are awaiting a sentence on this matter
• In January 2025 a builder in the Plymouth area entered a guilty plea and we are awaiting sentence on this matter.
• At Truro Crown Court on 1 July 2024  prosecution was taken by the Cornwall Inshore Fisheries & Conservation Authority and assisted by one of our Accredited Financial Investigators. The investigation was unusual for us in that it concerned illegal fishing. The fishing operator was prosecuted and an order made under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

The Service employs four Accredited Financial Investigators who are authorised by the National Crime Agency to conduct financial investigations into individuals. The powers allow them to seize cash and restrain assets. In the previous financial year, a boat was restrained belonging to a trader in Torbay and across the Heart of the South West over £105,000 was seized from traders (predominantly involved in the sale / supply of illicit tobacco).

Safety at sports grounds

Our Safety at Sports Grounds Officers worked with other agencies and sports grounds officials at various cricket clubs, football clubs, racecourses and other sporting venues across our area in order to ensure the safety and wellbeing of spectators.

Officers also worked with sports venues on:

• New operational plans
• Amendments to general certificates​
• Advice on safety management problems​
• Transport management plans​ and crowd control
• Grading and risk assessments of venues.

Key stats:

• Special Advisory Group meetings: 13
• Annual reviews of safety certificates relating to regulated venues: 7
• Event inspections carried out according to risk: 12.

Food standards

American candy has continued to be a major concern this year with large numbers of non-compliant sweets and fizzy drinks (often including banned additives) imported from the US.

We issued a press release urging consumers who are buying this sort of food to check the label to ensure that the products do not contain additives banned in the UK: Check the label; some US-style sweets may contain banned additives.

Inspections of both online and high street businesses likely to be selling non-compliant imported food has continued this year.  There have been multiple voluntary surrenders from businesses of prohibited stock, primarily due to foreign food information labelling and the use of unauthorised additives and colours being used in confectionery and soft drinks intended for the American market. We have worked closely with other Trading Standards Services nationally to cut off the wholesale supply of banned confectionery and other imported foods to ensure we protect consumers.

Our Allergens project work focused on catering premises serving ready-to-eat foods, including mobile food sellers and new food businesses such as cafes and restaurants. We procured 75 food allergens samples which we tested for undeclared allergens. Most businesses, 59, passed, however 16 did not and allergens were found, with traces of milk being the most common. Businesses whose samples failed will be revisited and further enforcement action considered.

Following allergen and intolerance related complaints, officers have visited food businesses to sample products and then followed up with appropriate business audits and advice.

A Somerset farmer was ordered to pay more than £50,000 for failing to test chickens and eggs for salmonella before they went into the food chain and for presenting birds for slaughter with either falsified documents or with documentation which did not relate to those particular birds: Farmer fined thousands for forging salmonella test results.

Officers also dealt with:

• False meat origin, traceability and production claims
• Labelling issues
• Organic claims
• Imported food stopped from entering the UK market
• Prohibited health and nutrition claims
• Compositional standards of food products
• Food hygiene ratings
• Non-compliance of novel foods
• National Food Standards Agency recall for peanut in mustard powder
• Animal by-product issues
• 2,500 new food business registrations.

Key stats:

• High risk inspections: 100
• International food retailer inspections: 28
• Number of allergen samples taken at sit-down premises: 75
• Percentage of samples coming back as unsatisfactory: 27%
• Number of other food samples taken: 87
• Percentage of other food samples coming back as unsatisfactory: 100%.

Feed

This quarter we completed our feed inspections, exceeding our target of 307 inspections to feed businesses and farms (visiting seven additional farms) despite being 40% down on our feed officer numbers.

All visits were to high-risk or non-compliant businesses and gave us the opportunity to check compliance and offer business support. Officers were able to combine these visits with animal welfare visits, therefore dealing with welfare issues, offering support and carrying out a feed audit in one inspection.

​National funded sampling projects included:

• Pig feed for essential nutrients
• Sampling of mineral feed
• Funded mill visits for pig/poultry samples.

All samples were satisfactory.

Non-funded inspections:

• Total samples taken: 21
• Percentage of samples coming back as unsatisfactory: 9.5%

Funded inspections:

• Percentage of funded inspections completed: 313
• Total samples taken: 3
• Percentage of samples coming back as unsatisfactory: 0%.

In addition to the visits and sampling, we claimed £5,000 of funding for 70 hours of business compliance work (advice, Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point checks, revisits etc).

This year the Rural Team undertook a water sampling project testing livestock drinking water, taking informal samples from troughs, buckets etc. The water was tested for heavy metals, salmonella, campylobacter and pesticides. This project was proposed to identify a potential missed area of non-compliance on farms, which in turn could be having an impact on animal and human health. Samples were taken while officers were completing routine visits.

Officers took 21 water samples and spoke with farmers about the importance of keeping livestock drinking water clean and fresh.

Twenty samples were satisfactory, however all showed traces of heavy metals. One sample was unsatisfactory, showing high levels of lead. The officer who took that sample has advised the farmer on steps to take to rectify the hazard. Animals in most of the farms tested have access to safe drinking water.

Pet food continues to be a growing industry with a number of new businesses brought to our attention which required advice and guidance. We issued a press release to remind home-based online pet food suppliers of the importance of ensuring the products they sell are legal after 10 were found to be selling products that were not legally compliant with product labelling requirements. This came after we carried out test purchases across the Heart of the South West: Guidance given to home-based online pet food suppliers.

Helping people to live healthier lives by preventing harm and promoting individual health

Product safety market surveillance and sampling

Officers worked on product recalls including:

• Toys
• Soother holders
• Cushions.

Other work dealt with included:

• Labelling issues
• Getting unsafe items withdrawn from market
• Counterfeit products
• Age-restricted products
• Updating businesses on changes in legislation.

We carried out fireworks inspections at 49 businesses. Of these, nine were non-compliant (18%) with levels of non-compliance ranging from minor to significant concerns. Two of these businesses required immediate attention due to their location near other buildings and residential areas. Both of these were inspected in partnership with the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service to address any potential fire hazards and ensure community safety. Most businesses inspected are following fireworks rules.

We have continued to work closely with the ports authorities when products/containers have been detained and have been able to authorise release.

This year we carried out sampling of children’s plastic beach shoes and tested them for the presence of phthalates. Phthalates are plastic-softening chemicals that are used to make plastic more durable but their use in many products is strictly controlled. Six of the 15 samples (40%) were found to contain phthalates in excess of the permitted levels. These findings were shared with the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) alongside a recommendation that further market surveillance is carried out in this product sector nationally. Recalls have taken place across the UK. This project was a follow-up to one in 2023-24 which found a similar failure rate. Children’s beach shoes containing banned levels of plastic-softening chemicals removed from sale.

At the start of the school summer holidays we issued a press release reminding people about summer safety issues such as using beach toys and barbecues: Buying beach products this summer? Look at the label…

In the autumn we issued a press release and ran a social media campaign reminding people to check their hot water bottle for safety: Now its getting colder, have you dug out your hot water bottle? Here are a few things to remember…

We have also used social media to raise safety awareness around Christmas, Halloween, beauty products, ebike/escooter batteries and child safety in the home.

Key stats:

• High-priority firework inspections: 49
• Number of products removed from sale (value): £18,101
• Number of samples taken: 18
• Percentage of samples coming back as unsatisfactory: 60%.

Illicit tobacco

Each year HotSW TS officers carry out a large number of operations to tackle the importing, storing and buying and selling of illegal tobacco and vapes. In 2024/25 there were 16 named operations which were carried out together with other enforcement agencies and many additional enforcement visits which took place as a result of intelligence received.

We issued a number of press releases on our work:

• Thousands of pounds worth of illicit tobacco seized in Exmouth.
• Illegal tobacco and vapes seized in shops across the region.
• Illegal tobacco, vapes and cash seized.

BBC Spotlight joined us for one operation, filming a piece which ran as their headline news item. They also put an article on the BBC News website: Illegal tobacco products seized during raids.

The BBC website featured another news story (Thousands of illegal vapes seized in South West) about the thousands of illegal vapes which have been seized by Trading Standards across the South West in the past year. Our Operations Manager Alex Fry was quoted in the story and also spoke on BBC Radio Devon and BBC Spotlight about the dangers of illegal vapes, how many are in existence, how to make sure you are buying a legitimate vape, young people vaping/under-ages sales and how to report illegal vapes. Team manager Richard Matthews also spoke on BBC Radio Devon about our work on illegal tobacco and vapes and why it’s important.

Some of our team featured in an episode of the BBC TV series SAS: Catching the Criminals highlighting the important work Trading Standards carry out to tackle and disrupt the supply of illicit tobacco and vape products.

Key stats:

• Number of enforcement actions carried out: 15
• Number of premises from which products were seized: 28
• Number of individual cigarettes seized: 290,700
• Amount of hand-rolling tobacco seized: 168.33 kg
• Number of individual niche tobacco products seized: 0

HotSW TS also took part in Operation Joseph. This nationally funded intelligence gathering operation covered test purchasing of ‘legal’ vapes, online test purchasing and storage/destruction costs. Some of the samples failed legal requirements and the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has been informed. Read about our work on ‘nicotine-free’ vapes here: Trading standards finds that some ‘nicotine free vapes’ contain nicotine.

Age-restricted products

Officers undertook tobacco product test purchasing exercises at 26 premises in order to check that businesses are complying with legislation around under-age sales.

We highlighted some of our work with the following press releases:

• Most shops ‘refuse’ to sell vapes to children.
• Local shopkeepers urged to ‘ask for ID’ after trader is prosecuted.
• Traders reminded to ‘ask for ID’ after another shop owner is fined for selling vapes.
• Taunton business prosecuted after vape sale to under 18.

Petroleum

Officers carried out 70 inspections at newly built and existing petroleum sites across the region; 15 were to high risk premises. Matters dealt with include lack of and incorrect documentation, storage safety, fuel contamination, fuel leakage and issuing safety certificates.

Metrology

Metrology qualified officers carried out checks of five bulk fuel tankers. This involves visual inspections of meter measuring systems on the tankers to determine compliance of vehicles, disrupt potential fraud and ensure maintenance and service schedules are being maintained. No major problems were found.

They also inspected seven petroleum forecourts, ensuring that the pumps were dispensing the correct amount of fuel. No major issues were found.

Twenty-eight weighbridges were inspected. This involves visual checks to determine compliance of machines, disrupt potential fraud, and ensure maintenance and calibration contracts are being maintained and by whom. Again, not many issues were found.

The measuring equipment at eight factory premises was checked to ensure average weights were correct. Most business had issues with their systems resulting in some short weight packages and batches. Our officers advised the businesses, the equipment was rectified and the products were re-packed at the time of inspection.