Bosses trade the boardroom for the shop floor to improve regulation
May 22nd 2009

Leading figures from the world of local regulation ventured into a commercial environment this month to find out first-hand how council inspection and enforcement operations impact on the day-to-day running of businesses, and are encouraging others to do the same.

You can't regulate what you don't understand. That's why Trading Places was developed - to give local authority inspectors the opportunity to experience for themselves the impact regulations have on the daily running of a business

Tesco and Sainsbury's both hosted Trading Places, developed by the Local Better Regulation Office (LBRO). This practical learning experience is open to all environmental health, fire safety, licensing and trading standards officers working in local authorities, who have the opportunity to spend two days at the premises of major companies, gaining valuable insight into how they are run and the challenges they can face when dealing with regulation.

Fostering understanding between regulatory services and the companies they monitor brings benefits for both parties, by strengthening working relationships and promoting a partnership approach to achieving compliance.

Those present at stores of these two major retailers received an overview of their operations, before spending time talking to some of the staff, and attempting to get to grips with routine regulatory issues such as check-out procedures and stock rotation.

The participants included: Jacqui Kennedy OBE Chair of Association of Chief Trading Standards Officers (ACTSO); Graham Jukes, CEO Chartered Institute of Environmental Health; Ron Gainsford, CEO Trading Standards Institute; Nigel Strick, Trading Standards Institute Council; Clive Grace, Chair LBRO; Graham Russell, Chief Executive LBRO, and Derek Allen, Executive Director LACORS.

"You can't regulate what you don't understand. That's why Trading Places was developed - to give local authority inspectors the opportunity to experience for themselves the impact regulations have on the daily running of a business," explains Clive Grace, LBRO Chair.

"It has been fantastic to get the heads of so many regulatory organisations directly on board with Trading Places, experiencing directly the daily issues which Tesco and Sainsbury's have to deal with in order to be compliant.

"We are now actively looking for businesses from a range of industries and local authorities who would like to take part in Trading Places, giving regulators and policymakers a better understanding of the real-world impact of regulation."

Companies and Local Authorities interested in taking part in Trading Places should contact LBRO on 0121 226 4000 or visit www.lbro.org.uk.