News Item • 2 mins read
As the National Accreditation Body for the United Kingdom, UKAS is an important component of the UK’s national infrastructure for “quality”, which is comprised of regulation, standards, measurement, accredited conformity assessment and enforcement. Trading standards services across the UK are therefore an important part of this national system.
Accreditation brings trust and confidence to markets through quality improvement and having an additional “safety net” of enforcement enhances consumer protection and discourages market players that may seek to avoid regulatory requirements or to make false claims about their products, services or business processes. Consumer confidence has a vital role in reinforcing a precarious economy and, if damaged, can take a long time to repair. Trading standards professionals perform an important role in ensuring regulatory compliance.
UKAS therefore sees the trading standards profession, and the Chartered Trading Standards Institute as its representative body, as a valuable strategic partner within the national quality infrastructure.
It is because of this that CTSI is one of UKAS’s members, as well as a member of the UKAS Policy Advisory Forum. Considering this history of collaboration, the theme of this year’s conference – ‘working in partnership – to build a fairer and safer world for businesses and consumers,’ is especially fitting.
UKAS is pleased to attend and exhibit at the annual CTSI conference. This year UKAS also sponsored the welcome drinks reception, where delegates were able to network, enjoy drinks and canapes and welcome addresses from CTSI Chair Tendy Lindsay, CEO, John Herriman, and UKAS CEO, Matt Gantley.
In 2021, UKAS’s Chair, Lord Lindsay, also became President of CTSI. On taking this role, Lord Lindsay confirmed his commitment to “ensuring that customer-facing standards and regulation are fit for globalised internet-based trade, the fourth industrial revolution and a zero-carbon world.”