Despite the crisp and cold weather outside the Palace of Westminster, there was a warm reception waiting inside for the recipients of the 2024 CTSI Hero Awards on the evening of 10 December.
Now in its nineteenth year, the event celebrates the best and brightest in consumer protection, honouring those whose hard work, enthusiasm and commitment have safeguarded communities, promoted fair play and changed lives for the better over the past 12 months.
Speaking to the Journal before proceedings got under way, CTSI Chair Nikki Pasek said: “For me, this event just captures the passion that the Trading Standards profession and our partners have for doing amazing things in our local communities and with local businesses.” Pasek, who was one of the award panel judges, added: “There were so many good entries, so many worthy pieces of work – the problem was picking the winners. It was a very difficult call.”
As the auspicious surroundings and the presence of several MPs and peers demonstrated, the hard work of Trading Standards has not gone unnoticed over the past year. One of those in attendance, Labour MP for Rochdale Paul Waugh, was there to support his local Trading Standards team, who received the Outstanding Trading Standards Project of the Year Award for their work on two initiatives: Operation Ghost and Operation Vigilant. The former was set up to tackle ‘ghost’ car registration plates which cannot be read by traffic cameras and have been linked with wider acts of criminality, while the latter is a partnership project to detect and disrupt the links between child exploitation and youth vaping.
Waugh commented: “I’m here to celebrate the fantastic Rochdale Trading Standards team who are getting an award tonight for two reasons. One is their great work in tackling illegal vapes, which has real implications for child protection in Rochdale. It has its roots in organised crime, and they’re working with the police really closely.
“Our Trading Standards team has also had great success in seizing lots of ‘ghost’ plates. In Rochdale, sadly, we do have an organised crime problem, but this shows that we’ve got people who are tackling that and standing up for residents.”
On the issue of Trading Standards’ wider work and its importance to the Government’s agenda for strengthened consumer protection laws, Waugh commented: “We think regulation empowers citizens and shows the connection across government with police and local councils working in tandem. If you can give them the tools, then you can help every citizen; you can help protect young kids from vaping, you can help protect them from county lines drug gangs. You can help them in the basic safety requirements that all families and parents expect from toys, for example.
“We’ve got an agenda as a government which is to enable people to get on with their lives, and safety and Trading Standards are a key part of that.”
Another politician in attendance was Mark Sewards, Labour MP for Leeds South West and Morley. He was there to support the West Yorkshire Trading Standards team, who were being highly commended in the Outstanding Trading Standards Project category for their work on Operation Artemis, an initiative to gather key information and intelligence about complaints in the home improvement sector. The project, which has been running since 2022, has prevented approximately £35,000 in consumer detriment alongside further unquantifiable savings through improved compliance.
Sewards commented: “Several of my constituents from the West Yorkshire Trading Standards are being honoured for their work, and I wanted to be here to celebrate with them.
“We won the election in July with a very clear mandate for the things set out in our manifesto. Things like renters rights are absolutely essential to protect people from the worst excesses of the market. It’s really important that we get these things done, and get them done quickly so that consumers are better protected.”
And the winners are…
The compere for the evening’s ceremony was broadcaster Jenni Falconer, who kicked things off by praising all of the worthy winners. “Tonight is a very special event to celebrate the incredible work that goes on day in, day out, by those working in Trading Standards and wider consumer protection across the UK,” she said.
“It is good to be in such great company this evening as we recognise the contribution that Trading Standards and others make. For me, you are unsung heroes who represent what is best in society, helping the community and the most vulnerable, and always putting others’ needs before your own.”
The first accolade of the evening was the Intellectual Property Award, presented by Rhys Hurley of the Intellectual Property Office. The award went to Project Firecrest, a partnership between Newport Trading Standards and Gwent Police which has resulted in the seizure of counterfeit and illegal tobacco, vapes, clothing and watches worth millions of pounds.
The Diversity and Inclusion Award went to the CTSI London Branch Race and Equalities Group, who were praised for their work at the REACH Conference in 2024 to promote Trading Standards careers to students and undergraduates from under-represented backgrounds.
The Best Product Safety Initiative Award was presented by category sponsor UKAS’s Richard Collins to the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Trading Standards team. They were recognised for their work to tackle unsafe e-bikes and e-scooters, the potential fire risks of which are of real concern in a borough where 80% of homes are flats. The Tower Hamlets team, working with London Fire Brigade, developed the #ChargeSafe media campaign, which raised awareness of the risks associated with the devices and caught the attention of local and national media.
The Outstanding Trading Standards Project Award was presented by Adam Carter from the National Trading Standards Scams Team to Rochdale Trading Standards, with West Yorkshire Trading Standards being highly commended in the category (see above). Also highly commended were the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Trading Standards team, whose projects over the past year have included work to remove unsafe vapes from the supply chain, tackling underage knife sales in the borough and conducting inspections of shisha venues through the multi-agency Operation Alice initiative.
Next up was the Brian Smith Hero Award, named in honour of the late Angus Council Trading Standards Officer whose tireless work to safeguard the vulnerable was an inspiration to many. The worthy winner of the award was Yemisi Forrest from Southwark Trading Standards, who has gone above and beyond to support fraud victims and bring rogue traders to justice. The award was presented by Steve Smith from category sponsor trueCall, who praised Forrest’s “fantastic professionalism”, which has empowered victims and resulted in prison sentences for the worst offenders.
Highly commended in the same category was Walt Boydell from Barnsley Safer Neighbourhoods Service, whose fight against a local loan shark resulted in a seven-year conviction for a ruthless criminal. He was praised for his diligence, persistence and empathy in his work alongside the England Illegal Money Lending Team.
One of the evening’s more emotional moments came with the next award, the CTSI Megan Lee Hero Award, named in tribute to the teenager who tragically lost her life after eating undeclared allergens in a takeaway meal. Megan’s parents Gemma and Adam have been unflagging in their support of Trading Standards’ work to promote allergen awareness, and they sent a heartfelt video message to the category winners, Lancashire County Council Trading Standards Food Team. The Lancashire team were praised for their creation of business advice and training packages, as well as an educational awareness package to promote understanding of anaphylaxis. The team have also taken more than 300 samples for allergens across a range of food types, leading to seven successful prosecutions.
The Staffordshire County Council Trading Standards Food, Feed and Animal Health Team were highly commended in the category after spearheading outstanding collaborative work on food safety in Staffordshire and the surrounding local authorities.
The Business Award was presented by Lesley Crompton, Head of Resolution Services at CTSI, to ABC+ Warranties, who were praised for their work to support new homeowners.
David Pickering, the recently retired CTSI Lead Officer for Food Standards, was named the Institute’s Hero in recognition of his significant contribution to the Trading Standards profession. A highly regarded member of the profession, Pickering was praised for his passion and knowledge about food matters, and for his ‘phenomenal’ ability to provide guidance and best practice for colleagues at all stages of their careers.
Speaking to the Journal after the ceremony about his thoughts on the current state of the UK’s food safety landscape, Pickering said: “There is now an opportunity to really look at food safety and security in relation to economic growth. We need to look at regulation that works for businesses and consumers. If you want economic growth, you’ve got to have rules that businesses understand and can work with.”
Highly commended in the category was Newham Trading Standards’ Vincent Searle, who was praised for his drive and passion for his own career, as well as for his work to promote the success and sustainable future of the profession. Also highly commended was the Oxfordshire Trading Standards team, whose work to support vulnerable victims of scams showed “a commitment to restoring trust and dignity for those who have lost faith in themselves and others”.
Finally, two Special Recognition Awards were handed out, with Thomas Haslam, a former test purchasing volunteer being praised for his remarkable work with Highland Council Trading Standards to promote the safe sale of goods to young people. During an 18-month period he took part in an incredible 70 test purchasing operations.
And last but by no means least, the second Special Recognition Award went to Pippa, a tobacco detection dog from Wagtail UK. Pippa, who Falconer described as “the most popular guest this year”, took to the stage with her handler Colin Singer, and was praised for her sterling work over the past seven years, during which she has uncovered more than 12.6 million illicit cigarettes, 170,000 illegal vapes and 38.6 tonnes of illegal hand-rolling tobacco.
Serious purpose
Reflecting on the purpose of the Hero Awards and their importance to the wider consumer protection profession, CTSI President Lord Jamie Lindsay told the Journal: “I think it’s hugely fitting and very appropriate that these awards are taking place in the Palace of Westminster. Trading Standards is so important to everyone throughout Britain, and it’s important that this event is being held at the apex of British governance and democracy.
“Each of the winners’ stories is an amazing example of what is going on every day in the Trading Standards world. By highlighting the specific achievements of some of those amazing people, it’s spreading an awareness of what great work they’re doing. And the more people realise how important Trading Standards is to their everyday lives, the more recognition they get, and the more support I’m hoping they will also get from central government, from local government, and from their local communities.”
