Made to Measure Podcast

Trading standards has seen unparalleled change over the last decade and more than ever new entrants to the profession need every opportunity to learn from the experiences and perspectives of the profession’s authorities. That’s why we’ve launched Made to Measure – the podcast of the Journal of Trading Standards to bring you in-depth interviews and insights from experts inside and outside the profession.

Alternatively, you can Listen to an episode from the list below now.

Episode 39:

Renewable Energy

We speak with CTSI Lead Officer for Energy and Smart Meters, Steve Playle, and trading standards consultant Adrian Simpson, about the implications of the Government’s Net Zero carbon target for consumer protection.

Episode 38:

Apprenticeships

To mark National Apprenticeship Week, we hear about how CTSI is supporting the Regulatory Compliance Officer apprenticeship scheme, and about how apprenticeships are a valuable way of making the trading standards profession more welcoming and diverse.

Episode 37:

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

To coincide with Black History Month, in this episode CTSI Chief Executive John Herriman, HR Manager Shanaz Syeda, and Race & Equalities Working Group member Giles Speid discuss why the trading standards profession needs to become more representative of the society it serves.

Episode 36:

Covid and Housing

We speak to Alison Farrar, one of CTSI’s Lead Officers for Property and Lettings about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the UK’s housing sector and the potential issues arising from the associated growth in home-working.

Episode 35:

Illicit Puppy Sales

We speak to Trading Standards Scotland’s Diane Bryson, Mike Flynn of the Scottish SPCA, and CTSI Lead Officers Steph Young and David MacKenzie about the cruelty, mistreatment and large-scale organised crime which lies behind many online puppy sales.

Episode 34:

John Herriman

We speak to CTSI’s newly appointed Chief Executive, John Herriman, about the challenges facing the institute and the wider profession, including the long-term effects of Covid-19, the impact of EU Exit and the need to push for more diversity and inclusion.

Episode 33:

Hair & Beauty

We speak to chartered environmental health practitioner Helen Buckingham, British Hair and Beauty Federation Chief Executive Richard Lambert and nail industry expert Marian Newman about the impact of COVID-19 on the hair and beauty industries.

Episode 32:

Paul Ramsden

As CTSI looks ahead to a 2021 outside the EU, we speak with Interim Executive Director Paul Ramsden about the Institute’s aims and priorities for the coming year – including its aims for improving inclusivity – and look back to 2020, a year defined by COVID-19.

Episode 31:

Age-restricted Sales and Coronavirus

We speak to CTSI Lead Officer for age-restricted sales, Brandon Cook and Serve Legal co-founder Ed Heaver about the challenges of enforcement in the age of coronavirus and what businesses and trading standards professionals need to do to prepare.

Episode 30:

CMA COVID-19 Task Force

Dan Rawling, Director in the Policy and International team at the Competition and Markets Authority, speaks to us about how the CMA has seen a surge in complaints as the coronavirus crisis has developed, and how it is working with trading standards to tackle problems such as price-gouging and cancellations.

Episode 29:

LTS Coronavirus Travel Panel

In this week’s podcast, which is being published to highlight the latest London Trading Standards campaign, we speak to a panel of experts about the rights of consumers and the responsibilities of businesses when it comes to refunds for travel bookings during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

Episode 28:

Coronavirus Guides

JTS editor Richard Young tells us about a new series of digital Coronavirus bulletins issued through the Business Companion website by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial strategy.

Episode 27:

Coronavirus Crime

We speak with Ben Russell, Deputy Director of the Economic Crime Centre at the National Crime Agency about how his organization is working alongside other enforcers – including trading standards – to protect the public during these difficult times.

Episode 26:

Coronavirus Special

We speak to CTSI Chief Executive Leon Livermore and Lead Officer for Doorstep Crime Katherine Hart about the impact of the pandemic and why we all have a part to play in supporting each other and fighting back against the criminals preying on people at their most vulnerable.

Episode 25:

Business Members Group, Part Two

We speak again to Wendy Potts, CTSI Joint Lead Officer for Fair Trading and Chair of the Business Members Group, and also with Steve Emmett, a self-employed chartered trading standards practitioner who serves as a section representative on the BMG.

Episode 24:

Business Members Group, Part One

We speak to Wendy Potts, CTSI Joint Lead Officer for Fair Trading and Chair of the Business Members Group, about how compliance on consumer protection is a team effort that involves enforcement professionals working closely with retailers and manufacturers.

Episode 23:

Hallmarking

We speak to CTSI Lead Officer for Hallmarking David Sanders and British Hallmarking Council Chairman Noel Hunter about how the oldest form of consumer protection has evolved over the past 700 years, and the modern-day challenges hallmarking faces.

Episode 22:

Petroleum and Explosives

We speak to Ian Hillier, CTSI Lead Officer for Petroleum and Explosives, about the importance of protecting both consumers and the environment when it comes to petroleum and protecting the public from dangerous fireworks.

Episode 21:

Fair Trading

We speak to Sylvia Rook, CTSI’s Lead Officer for Fair Trading, about the wide range of trading standards issues touched by her area of expertise, including the impact of Brexit on relevant legislation and issues around the growing dominance of online markets.

Episode 20:

Advertising Standards

We speak to Jim Tebbett, Senior Compliance Executive at the Advertising Standards Agency and Committee of Advertising Practice about how his organisation works closely with trading standards to tackle misleading adverts that can result in real consumer harm.

Episode 19:

Intellectual Property

We speak to CTSI’s two Joint Lead Officers for Intellectual Property, Handley Brustad and Gavin Terry about their experience in dealing with IP and counterfeiting issues, how they link to serious organised crime and how they directly impact consumers.

Episode 18:

Sarah Caughey

We speak to CTSI’s new Head of Policy Sarah Caughey about her main priorities in the role, from confronting Local Authority cuts to promoting and campaigning for recognition of the importance of the trading standards profession across the public and private sectors.

Episode 17:

Energy and Smart Meters

We speak to CTSI Lead Officer for Energy and Smart Meters, Steve Playle, about the increasingly fragmented energy sector, the importance of environmental considerations and the risks to consumers from scams and unscrupulous players.

Episode 16:

Travel

We speak to CTSI Lead Officer for Travel, Bruce Treloar, about the collapse of Thomas Cook and the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, which came into force last July.

Episode 15:

Property & Lettings

We speak to the two CTSI Lead Officers for property and lettings, Alexandra Cosgrove and Andrew Coulter, about their day-to-day activities, the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team and the new Tenant Fees Act.

Episode 14:

LTS Week Knife Crime event

We bring you audio from the London Trading Standards Week Knife Crime event, in which trading standards professionals across the capital discuss their thoughts on how best to combat the problem of underage knife sales.

Episode 13:

Communications

We sit down with Eleni Chalkidou, CTSI’s Director of Communications, and Kerry Auger, CTSI’s Communications and Press Officer to discuss the importance of communications to CTSI and to the wider interests and needs of the profession.

Episode 12:

Budget Cuts

We take views from CTSI lead officers, a local councillor, the head of the government’s Office for Product Safety and Standards, minister for consumer protection, Kelly Tolhurst MP and others on cuts to regulatory and enforcement budgets and the effect on trading standards services.

Episode 11:

Animal Health

We speak to CTSI Lead Officer for Animal Health and Welfare Stephanie Young about the importance of trading standards work in maintaining quality across an increasingly intricate food supply chain and how the UK would cope in the face of another food crisis.

Episode 10:

Brexit

We speak to CTSI Head of Policy Craig McClue about the ever-present debate over Brexit, the policy implications the UK’s eventual exit from the EU will have for the trading standards profession and for consumers and the CTSI Brexit Think Tank he’s heading up.

Episode 9:

CTSI Hero Awards 2019

Our coverage of an enjoyable and inspiring evening celebrating the achievements of trading standards and consumer protection heroes. We hear directly from many of the winners and the MPS, sponsors and others who were there to support them.

Episode 8:

CTSI Symposium 2019 Review

In a round-up of our CTSI Symposium 2019 coverage we hear from Kelly Tolhurst MP, NTS Chair Lord Toby Harris, OPSS Chief Executive Graham Russell and many more about consumer protection challenges and why trading standards is stronger together.

Episode 7:

CTSI Symposium 2019 Preview

We speak to CTSI Chief Executive Leon Livermore and Events and Communications Executive Karin Layton about the key themes of this year’s CTSI Symposium, taking place in Brighton in early June, and why it is so important for the profession to come together.

Episode 6:

Food Safety

We speak to David Pickering, CTSI lead officer for food, about the risks associated with its preparation, sale and consumption in the UK and, with recent high-profile allergen cases in mind, how important it is for people to know what they are eating.

Episode 5:

Age-restricted Sales

We speak to Brandon Cook and Veronica McGinley, CTSI lead officers for age-restricted sales and Tony Allen, chief executive of the Age-Check Certification Scheme about the urgent issue of sales of knives and other harmful products to young people.

Episode 4:

Automotive

We speak to CTSI Lead Officer for automotive issues, Owen Kennedy and his predecessor Gerald Taylor about the challenges trading standards practitioners face in dealing with issues like mileage tampering, online sales and faulty repairs.

Episode 3:

Scams

We speak to National Trading Standards’ Louise Baxter and Mike Andrews about the fight against scammers, both online and off, and the approaches they are using to keep up with a moving target, like the www.friendsagainstscams.org.uk/ initiative.

Episode 2:

Online Marketplaces

We explore the legal and practical ramifications of the growth in online markets with CTSI’s joint lead officer for ecommerce David MacKenzie and Mike Andrews, coordinator of the National Trading Standards e-crime team.

Episode 1:

Leon Livermore

We speak to Leon Livermore, Chief Executive of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute about his start in the professions, the changes he’s seen through his career and the challenges facing trading standards today.

Please send any feedback to madetomeasure@jtsmag.uk