LoginCTSI Conference 2025: Day One
The theme of ‘Unlocking future potential’ ran throughout the first day of CTSI’s gathering in Blackpool.
Journal of Trading Standards Staff
Posted 17 June 2025 | JoTS Online
Content Tags: Updates|Inside Trading Standards|National
The astonishingly wide range of topics being discussed on the first day of CTSI’s 2025 Conference in Blackpool gives a pretty good indication of the breadth of Trading Standards’ current range of duties and areas of expertise. From organised crime and illicit tobacco to unsafe products and unfair pricing practices; from food, vapes, online shopping and hazardous materials to technological innovation, workplace inclusion, evolving consumer protection legislation and, last but not least, dangerous ladders, Trading Standards is certainly not afraid of taking on new challenges. If only the resources at the service’s disposal matched the scale of its workload.
Likewise, the passion, enthusiasm and dedication on display in every corner of the Winter Gardens venue demonstrate how – despite a rising tide of consumer detriment and a rapidly changing consumer landscape – Trading Standards remains a powerful ally to consumers and legitimate businesses.
This event is more than just an annual date on the calendar - it's a celebration of who we are and what we stand for
Proceedings began on Tuesday morning (June 17) with broadcaster Georgie Frost welcoming attendees to three days of plenary sessions, seminars and networking events. As she noted, this year’s Conference will host more than 600 attendees and 40 exhibitors, and for the first time in its 40-year history, a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter was on stage to ensure no one in attendance missed the key messages.
That was largely at the behest of CTSI Chair Nikki Pasek, who has used her tenure to highlight issues of inclusion – particularly around disability – and to push for measures that ensure CTSI’s commitment to diversity within the Trading Standards profession and beyond.
“This event is more than just an annual date on the calendar – it’s a celebration of who we are and what we stand for,” Pasek said in her opening remarks.
“The work we carry out really matters on every high street, on every online marketplace, and in every community. Trading Standards professionals protect people and uphold fairness… it’s all about contributing to a safer and fairer society.
“Our role is sometimes quiet but its impact is loud,” Pasek added. “Trading Standards teams always rise to the challenge, often under pressure and often under-resourced. But they are always committed and always professional.
“We work brilliantly across local authorities, across regions, and across the nations. We are all stronger when we share knowledge and learn from each other. That’s why this is so important – we can use this week to build connections, to share stories and solutions, to celebrate what works and be honest about what doesn’t.”
Culture of inclusion
Pasek was keen to enforce the message that Trading Standards is more effective when it understands and embraces difference – and she spoke from personal experience. “Let’s keep looking out for each other,” she said. “Let’s commit to creating a culture in which we can speak up for and support each other. We must continue to ensure that everyone feels valued, respected and heard. Inclusion is not a side project – it is fundamental to everything that we do.
“In that spirit as Chair, I would like to focus on disability this year. I have hearing loss and it shapes how I communicate, how I interact and how I experience the world – including this Conference.”
Pasek went on to highlight the social model of disability, which she said is “a powerful lens through which to understand and address disability.”
There followed a thought-provoking presentation by Michael Stead from the Bolton Deaf Society and Rachel Grace from Deafway.
They called for improved access to Trading Standards information for the 18 million people in the UK who are deaf or have experienced hearing loss, and of whom 151,000 are British Sign Language (BSL) users. They also called for more to be done to tackle the barriers faced by deaf people, including the use of ‘deaf-friendly’ digital platforms, and highlighted the real-world impacts of deafness and hearing loss, which include increased vulnerability to scams and exploitation; delayed and unresolved consumer complaints; and reduced confidence in consumer protection systems.
Sense of optimism
Next on stage was CTSI Chief Executive John Herriman, who described the sense of purpose that imbues the Trading Standards profession, as well as his passion for spreading the word about Trading Standards’ work: “I’m learning something new every day and that drives me on, on a daily basis, which is absolutely fantastic. I couldn’t imagine any better job,” he told attendees.
“We face many challenges, but I’ve always been an optimist – I like to see opportunities in every challenge.”
The scale of those challenges is highlighted by the most recent Consumer Detriment Survey. As Herriman pointed out, the rising tide of consumer harms has coincided with a dramatic decline in Trading Standards resources. “Trading Standards have been hit twice as hard as other regulatory services, so I think we’re doing an incredible job against that backdrop with a decreasing workforce. Now that is hopefully starting to stabilise. In order to tackle that consumer detriment though, we need to make sure that we’ve got a workforce and a system that supports us.
“Something isn’t working and I think our Trading Standards services are doing quite a remarkable job.”
Herriman also drew attention to what he described as a ‘dynamic landscape’ in which a range of new legislation – including the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, the DMCC Act, the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill and the Renter’s Rights Bill – are being introduced by a government still getting to grips with a beleaguered economy and a host of evolving consumer threats.
Herriman was also keen to emphasise the central role of local, place-based enforcement in tackling the clear and present dangers confronting consumers on the high street and in their homes. “We know that the national doesn’t work without the local being in place,” he said. “It’s all about making the case for Trading Standards. And it’s about protecting the local. Nobody else can do the enforcement activity at the local level.”
The following plenary session took an in-depth look at the thorny issue of dynamic pricing, with experts – including CTSI Lead Officer Sylvia Rook – giving their views on the practice’s implications for fairness and transparency.
For a summary of that session – as well as other highlights of the CTSI Conference 2025, check out the Journal’s updates over the coming days.
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|Inside Trading Standards|National
