LoginLocal Gov’t Funding Rise Welcomed
CTSI has welcomed the announcement of additional grant funding for local councils and an £80m investment in illicit tobacco enforcement.
Journal of Trading Standards Staff
Posted 12 June 2025 | JoTS Online
Content Tags: Updates|Legal and Policy|National
CTSI has welcomed a projected rise in local authority funding of 3.1% as a result of yesterday’s Government Spending Review, with an extra £3.4bn of annual grant funding to be made available to local councils by 2028-29. Because that funding will not be ringfenced, however, it will be up to councils themselves to decide whether Trading Standards and other regulatory services will benefit.
More promising for Trading Standards specifically is the announced investment of £80m to support the upcoming Tobacco & Vapes Bill, which will provide a much-needed boost for frontline enforcement on illicit tobacco and underage sales.
The Civil Service Strategic Workforce Plan will also bring an additional £50m for training and apprenticeships, regional recruitment, and the relocation of 12,000 Civil Service roles outside London. Those measures align with CTSI’s call for a more modern, UK-wide Civil Service workforce, as noted in its 2024 Manifesto. CTSI said: “We will continue pressing for these initiatives to be expanded, including building on the existing £10m for Trading Standards apprentices.”
In its response to the Spending Review, CTSI added: “To ensure that local authority Trading Standards remain in the hearts and minds of local decision-makers, CTSI is actively developing new resources to support services in raising their profile. These materials will be designed for use with newly elected councillors, MPs, and within the context of devolution and local government reorganisation, helping services to better demonstrate their value and relevance at a local level.
“With a new emphasis on digital transformation, we will also monitor how back-office cuts and estate rationalisation affect the delivery of enforcement at local level. In parallel, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is leading reforms to radically simplify local government funding, consolidating over 300 central government grants and reducing the use of ringfences.
“This is intended to provide councils with more predictable and flexible budgets, lower administrative burdens, and free up capacity for local decision-making – developments CTSI believes could strengthen the environment for better regulatory delivery, provided that Trading Standards receives sufficient prioritisation within council structures.”
Other aspects of the Spending Review with implications for Trading Standards include a commitment to local government reorganisation with a push for unitary authorities; the announcement of a £13.2bn home insulation scheme; and an additional £280m annual investment in border security.
PLEASE NOTE: This content originally appeared on our standalone Journal of Trading Standards website (www.journaloftradingstandards.co.uk), which we are gradually migrating over to the Journal's new home on the CTSI website. Please bear with us while we complete this process. This will not affect the production of our Print Edition.
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Content Tags: Updates|Legal and Policy|National
