Plans for a new body to protect consumers, give advice to businesses and cut red tape were unveiled ...


Headline:	New agency will help consumers and cut down on red tape
Description:	Plans for a new body to protect consumers, give advice to businesses and cut red tape were unveiled by Consumer Minister Gerry Sutcliffe today. The Consumer and Trading Standards Agency (CTSA) will: * protect consumers and business from unscrupulous traders; * advise business on regulation and complying with laws governing fair trading; * manage Consumer Direct, the new telephone and internet advice service set up by the DTI; * co-ordinate the work of Trading Standards Departments across the UK; and * help consumers obtain redress when things go wrong. The new body will reduce red tape and save money by combining the work of a number of current regulators in a single body. It will take on the consumer enforcement functions currently carried out by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), as well as the functions of the National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML), the British Hallmarking Council (BHC) and the Hearing Aid Council (HAC). The Government is consulting on whether the CTSA should be separate from the OFT or created as part of it. Whilst Trading Standards departments will still be run by local authorities, the CTSA will set performance standards, and make sure that good working practices are shared. Businesses will gain from streamlined advice and reduced red tape and consumers will benefit from more targeted enforcement, improved consumer education and better redress when things go wrong. Today's announcement follows the biggest review of regulatory bodies in a quarter of a century. Consumer Minister Gerry Sutcliffe said: "The Hampton report, published in March 2005, concluded that burdens on business could be reduced by streamlining the regulatory system to have fewer, larger regulators. "The new Consumer and Trading Standards Agency will be a strong, proactive body, well able to respond to the needs of consumers and business. "It will be consumer-focused, but will also promote the importance of competitive markets and innovation, providing fair outcomes for both consumers and business." A consultation on the structure, roles and responsibility of the new body begins today.
Date:	12.07.2005
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