Trading Standards are the local authority departments with the United Kingdom, formerly known as Weights and Measures, that enforce consumer protection legislation.
They now deal with more diverse issues under a wide variety of Acts, Orders and Codes of Practice, as set out by central government, working with a number of other regulatory bodies such as the Food Standards Agency and the Office for Product Safety and Standards.
Trading Standards also work with APHA and DEFRA to ensure disease controls are in place protecting residents and agriculture in the UK.
Recent priorities include prevention of sales of counterfeit goods, sales of tobacco and alcohol to under-age buyers, and action to prevent exploitation of vulnerable consumers by scams and doorstep crime.
In 2018 Buckinghamshire and Surrey Trading Standards[5] formed their 100th Primary Authority Partnership under this government scheme.