LoginCTSI Conference 2025: Day Three
CTSI’s annual event concluded with lessons from the past, a look to the future and an upbeat message.
Journal of Trading Standards Staff
Posted 20 June 2025 | JoTS Online
Content Tags: Updates|Inside Trading Standards|National
CTSI’s 2025 Conference concluded on Thursday (June 19) on an upbeat note – despite a late night following Day Two’s Awards Ceremony and after-party, the delegates who did make it to the Blackpool Winter Gardens for the 9am start appeared remarkably invigorated and wide-awake.
The Awards Ceremony itself was an inspiring event, with new apprentices being welcomed to the Trading Standards family and some familiar faces being recognised for their contribution to the profession. Among these, Ron Gainsford was the recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award, a highly deserved acknowledgement of his life-long commitment to the Trading Standards cause.
Alongside the awards themselves, attendees were treated to an eye-popping display of ballroom dancing, three sequin-bedazzled costume changes from awards host Martyn James, and a much-needed chance to relax with colleagues old and new.
To future-proof Trading Standards, we need to make it personal and we need to make it our mission so that we are no longer ‘hidden heroes’ - we need to step into the limelight
Day Three’s plenary delivered an insightful discussion on the future of the Trading Standards profession, examining how learning the lessons of the past can help empower Trading Standards at the local and national level.
CTSI Head of Policy and Campaigns Jessica Merryfield was the plenary’s host, welcoming Ian Simpson from training specialists Babington, Sue Davies from Which?, ACTSO’s Richard Strawson, and Samuel Abdullahi from Brent and Harrow Trading Standards and the REACH Society.
Simpson began his presentation by highlighting how much Trading Standards has changed over the past few decades, with more people from ethnically diverse backgrounds joining the profession, and a notable improvement in gender equality at senior levels. He also noted how the profession has seen more entrants with disabilities and neurodiversity issues, and spoke about how there is still much to be done – from training through to career development opportunities – to ensure that Trading Standards is more representative, and that it caters to the needs of a diverse workforce.
“We’re massively improving over recent years, but we’ve got more to do,” he said. “We are responding better to who comes forward [to join the profession], and we want to give the message that we’re open to everybody. It’s very inclusive and training is more accessible than it used to be.”
In his presentation Richard Strawson also reflected on the changing face of Trading Standards during his more-than-30 years in the profession. He focused on ACTSO’s commitment to developing leadership skills within the Trading Standards workforce, saying: “We need to represent ourselves in the best way we can locally and regionally. We need to look forward. We need to deal with the here and now. Things have changed, things will continue to change, and as a profession we need to learn and adapt.
“The trading environment is changing, and as an effective regulator, we need to change with it. We need to focus on outcomes rather than outputs. Prosecution is an output – but does it actually make a difference? Sometimes it does and sometimes it needs to be done, but we’ve got a plethora of other tools in our box.
“We need to think more about publicity and the importance of getting our message across, and we’ve got to understand that if we’re intelligence-led, we’ve got to use data analytics to explore how and where people complain. We’ve got information at our fingertips – we’ve got to learn how best to use that.
“The past is history,” Strawson concluded. “Let’s learn from it, let’s reflect on it, but actually, let’s look to the future.”
Next up was Samuel Abdullahi, who delivered a truly inspirational speech about Trading Standards’ real-world impact on people’s lives, and the importance of an effective Trading Standards service to local businesses. He invited the audience to imagine a society with no regulation and consumer protections, where “businesses are left to do their own thing”.
“Consumers would have little confidence in the marketplace because businesses are exploiting them and therefore they have little or no trust in businesses. It would damage the economy, and think about the mental state and the wellbeing of people that are living in this place.”
Abdullahi also highlighted the increasing range of responsibilities facing Trading Standards, in contrast to diminished budgets and resources. “A reduction in Officers also means a reduction in investigations and inspections, leaving consumers and legitimate businesses vulnerable. Despite all the cuts, there has been an increase in legislation. This means that the service itself is being stretched like an elastic band.”
Abdullahi called for greater recognition of Trading Standards’ contribution on the local level, and of the vital role it plays in engaging with communities – whether they are consumers seeking support, businesses seeking advice, or victims seeking justice. “We need to understand that at a local level, Trading Standards can respond to local issues. Between residents and businesses alike, relationships can be formed, building trust and increasing compliance.”
He concluded his presentation by speaking of his own experiences, demonstrating how engaging with the public – particularly young people starting out in their careers – is a powerful way of ensuring Trading Standards’ future.
“In 2004, a young man was working at a well-known retailer. He was inspired by a visit from Trading Standards and a presentation about their work. There was an opportunity to apply for a post within his local Trading Standards service, and he became a Trading Standards practitioner. In 2016 he had the opportunity to become a team leader and in 2022, he became Chair of the CTSI London Branch and at the same he was named London Trading Standards Investigator of the Year. In 2025, he was admitted into the College of Fellows, and now he is standing here at Conference talking about future-proofing Trading Standards.
“To future-proof Trading Standards, we need to make it personal and we need to make it our mission so that we are no longer ‘hidden heroes’ – we need to step into the limelight.
“I was born in Nigeria,” Abdullahi concluded, “but I was made in Brent and Harrow Trading Standards.”
Sue Davies was up next, and her presentation focused on recent research by Which? into Trading Standards resourcing and capacity, examining disparities in staffing levels across the country.
“We really need to make the case when there’s a big focus on regulatory reform, that fundamental consumer protection really underpins that,” she said. “We’ve seen a decline in resources for Trading Standards and increasingly a shift to a more reactive approach. But it’s at a time when consumers really need to know that there is enforcement.
“We’re dealing with ever more complex markets and cross-border issues. AI can bring new risks but also it can bring benefits, valuable tools to help enforce consumer protection and identify where there might be problems.
“With online marketplaces, there is a whole range of different issues,” Davies added, drawing attention to collaboration between Which?, CTSI and others to call for greater protections for consumers when shopping online, and more robust legislation to ensure online platforms are accountable for their actions.
Davies also highlighted the findings of the most recent CMA Consumer Detriment Survey, and the crucial work Trading Standards does to mitigate the already astronomical sums lost to consumers and the economy by unfair business practices and rogue trading.
“What happens at a local level is going to have repercussions for consumers wherever they live in the UK,” she said. “Sometimes I’m not sure that is recognised in the way that it needs to be.”
Rounding up
Day Three’s plenary was followed by a CTSI Masterclass on the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Act, examining the new powers it gives to enforcers – including new tools like Online Interface Orders – and new provisions to ban fake reviews and drip-pricing.
The Masterclass was delivered by CTSI Lead Officers Sylvia Rook, Jemma Cox and David Mackenzie, who were each instrumental in helping to steer the legislation from its inception through to its final form, and they have likewise had a central role in delivering CTSI’s DMCC Act training sessions. Looking ahead, they will also be helping the profession get to grips with the next phase of the DMCC Act’s roll-out, which will bring in new rules relating to subscription services, consumer savings schemes and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).
Conference 2025’s final seminars comprised a drop-in session with the CTSI Race & Equalities Committee, a session examining the future of the Primary Authority system, and an update from the British Standards Institution (BSI) on its work to support consumer safety in the home.
This was followed by a brief closing ceremony in which outgoing CTSI Chair Nikki Pasek welcomed new Chair David Mackenzie to his role – with, appropriately enough, a stick of Blackpool rock serving as the baton being passed.
“Being CTSI Chair has been fantastic,” Pasek said. “If any of you ever think about becoming Chair, please do it – put yourself forward because it’s just been great.”
As the Conference wound down, CTSI Chief Executive John Herriman told the Journal that there were two main things he would be taking away from Blackpool. “The first has been about the central message that’s come through around inclusivity, and I think that’s been clear right from the start of Conference. I want to learn more about British Sign Language, for example.
“The second thing is the way that everybody’s looking to the future. We’ve got lots of new legislation and we’ve had some fantastic sessions, given by Lead Officers and others. We don’t necessarily have all the answers yet, but everybody’s focused on how they can apply this new legislation to better protect consumers and businesses.”
Finally, Herriman said, “The CTSI head office team’s done an amazing job behind the scenes, and Blackpool has done us proud. The Winter Gardens venue and staff have been unbelievable. Many people have said that it’s the best Conference venue that we’ve been to. I also want to thank the CTSI Northwest Branch for hosting us, and to all of the stewards for their hard work. And a massive thank you to our sponsors and all of the delegates, because they’ve made it all happen.”
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Content Tags: Updates|Inside Trading Standards|National
