Click each image for more content A selection of the institutes contributions to government policy debate Proposal to amend Atol Standard Term 6 Regulations for standardised tobacco products packaging Proposed revocation of four sets of maritime regulations Proposals for a price cap on high-cost short-term credit Proposal to amend Atol Standard Term 6 Civil Aviation Authority consultation, August 2014 Seeking total transparency in consumer purchases of holidays and travel, TSI agrees that there should be no confusion when purchasing Atol-protected products. So it is grateful for the opportunity to respondto this consultation, which identifies the problems of lack of consumer clarity on Atol protection arising from those businesses that are exempt from Atol. Changes to Atol protection in 2012, supported by TSI, sought to address these issues, but recent situations have confused this requirement. If Standard Term 6 is not changed, any sales made to consumers by exempted businesses such as those based in the European Economic Area (EEA) will provide no Atol protection, andwill be a major problem for UK consumers. TSI fully supports this proposed change by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), as such an amendment to Atol Standard Term6 will prevent Atol-protected seats from being sold to exempt businesses (those that dont need an Atol), who may well sell these unprotected seats alongside other components to UK consumers, leaving the whole combination with no protection. Lead officer: Bruce Treloar For more details, and to contribute to consultations such as these, visit www.tradingstandards.gov.uk Credits Published You might also like: travellight / Shutterstock 28 October, 2014 TSI consultations October 2014 issue f-f-f-f / Shutterstock Roy Pedersen / Shutterstock HamsterMan / Shutterstock To share this page, click on in the toolbar TS TODAY The introduction of regulations for standardised packaging of tobacco products Department of Health consultation, August 2014 TSI fully supports the introduction of standardised packaging, as stated in the original response made to the Department of Health in 2012. We consider the tobacco industrys argument against standardised packaging as inevitably leading to an increase in the illicit tobacco trade to be invalid. Proposed regulations retain provision for all of the key security features that are found on existing packs of cigarettes,including coded numbering and covert anti-counterfeit marks, so no new challenges were presented in terms of the detection ofillicit product. TSI members are experienced in and committed to tackling the problem of illicit tobacco supply. Ninety-one per cent of responding trading standards services have reported taking action, locally, to deal with the supply of illicit tobacco in 2014, compared with 93 per cent in2013. The Institute notes the provisions set out in Article 15 of the revised EU Tobacco Products Directive and Article 8 of the Illicit Trade Protocol welcoming the development of a numbering system and effective tracking and tracing procedures. Lead officers: Jane MacGregor, Handley Brustad and Gavin Terry Proposed revocation of four sets of maritime regulations Maritime and Coastguard Agency statutory consultation, August 2014 TSI believes that ports should source and maintain sufficient equipment suitable for all of its uses including checking incoming foreign vehicles for overloading above the permitted axle weights for this country to protect our infrastructure and prevent monetary advantage over operators in this country, which are often small businesses. One port identified by a correspondent to this response was subjected to systematic overloading to the extent that the issue was raised in the local press. With a range of throughput around the country, a lot of smaller ports especially in Scotland, where smaller vessels are used are more susceptible to the effects of overloaded vehicles than those where larger vessels are used. Skilled staff loading ferries need accurate information about the gross weight of heavy goods vehicles, enabling them to load a ship in a balanced way and evenly across the decks front to back/side to side. Its essential that weighbridge facilities remain at the point of loading and because of the environmental conditions in which they operate that an appropriate maintenance programme is in place. Lead officers: Metrology Proposals for a price cap on high-cost short-term credit Financial Conduct Authority, Consultation Paper CP14/10, August 2014 TSI welcomes this Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) research, and supports the introduction of a cap on the basis of indications that it will: lower extortionate costs for borrowers; prevent borrowing costs escalating beyond a fixed level, ensuring borrowers understand exactly how much they might end up having to repay; and raise the entry level for acceptance by the lender of borrowers, according to their means and ability to pay. We believe that the FCA should look more closely at its concerns that it is too stringent to cap the number of times a lender can loan money to a borrower. We recommend that, at the very least, the FCA should consider limits on the time between loans being granted. Taking out a fresh loan 20 minutes after paying off a loan is a clear indication of a borrowers financial inability to service their outstanding debts properly. By allowing such turn-around borrowing, borrowers are being encouraged to avoid dealing with the problem by seeking proper financial help and advice from accredited sources, such as StepChange. Response composed by: TSI service director (communications and policy) Suzanne Kuyser