News LGA makes no mention of trading standards in its key manifesto asks The Local Government Association (LGA) has called on political parties to commit to a 10-point plan to boost vital local services and drive economic growth but trading standards was not included. Ahead of the General Election on 8 June, the LGA sent the list of pledges to all parties, and called on each to include in their manifesto a commitment to: Ensure councils have the funding they need to provide vital services, including maintaining green spaces, caring for the elderly and protecting children. Local government faces an estimated funding gap of 5.8bn by 2019/20 Continue with reforms to allow local government to keep more of its business rates income Agree new devolution deals, so decisions on how to run local services can be taken closer to where people live Give local government a central role in deciding whether to keep, amend or scrap EU laws once they are converted into UK law Close the 2.3bn funding gap that social care services face by 2020, andcarry out a formal review to help protect support services that care for elderly and disabled people Allow councils to borrow to invest in housing, and to keep 100 per cent of the receipts from any homes they sell to replace them and reinvest in building new homes and infrastructure Give councils the resources they need to keep children and young people safe. Childrens services in England will be facing a 2bn funding gap by 2020 Ensure councils have both a role in determining where new schools are created, and a say on the type of school introduced to their area Develop a successor scheme for EU funding, which gives local areas full control over spending Devolve funding and responsibility for the 10.5bn a year national employment and skills system to local areas. LGA chairman Lord Porter said: The need for financial sustainability for local government is urgent. Councils need fairer funding to continue to provide the full range of services that support their local communities. Final prosecution for legal highs case RAD Trading, which operated from a shop called Red Eye in Oxford. Oxfordshire TS found that the products it stocked as research chemicals and herbal incenses were being sold for recreational purposes, and were unsafe and dangerous. In January 2016, Darren Lee Manley, another director of RAD Trading, pleaded guilty to 16 offences relating to the sale of unsafe and dangerous products. He was given a sentence of six months imprisonment, suspended for two years. Both he and RAD Trading were fined 20,000 and ordered to pay 40,000 in costs. You can read more about the case in the March issue of TS Today. ESF seminar calls for more data on incidents caused by exploding batteries A call for better-quality data on incidents caused by lithium-ion batteries gained overwhelming approval from participants at a recent seminar hosted by Electrical Safety First (ESF) on risk mitigation of both lithium batteries and drones. Media reports of exploding mobile phones or e-cigarettes are becoming commonplace. Meanwhile drone alerts have included a report of a near-miss between a drone and a passenger plane. Drones are no longer simplyamilitary tool, but are used in a range of professions from surveying to cinematography and are an increasingly fashionable gadget for consumers. A number of significant issues were highlighted at this event, said Martyn Allen, technical director of ESF. For example, the regulatory regime is at risk of being left behind by the speed of uptake and development of relatively new products, so there is a need for robust due diligence using existing conformity assessment processes as a guide to demonstrate that such products are safe. The first session on lithium-ion batteries highlighted the design and operation of these batteries, and considered how and why they can fail. Key points raised included the importance of battery-charger compatibility and issues around the safe transportation of lithium batteries. This is particularly the case when carrying them by air, where a catastrophic explosion could arise if a single cell was to catch fire and destabilise nearby batteries, to create a thermal runaway. In the final session, the panellists considered drones. The discussion reviewed the current legislative and standards framework, as well as safety concerns. Well be providing an update on these issues at our annual product safety conference in November, Allen said. trading standards advises on new ladder guidelines New guidance for buying and using telescopic ladders has been issued by The Ladders Association, following advice on their safety by Trading Standards East Midlands. Derbyshire Trading Standards led on the project after its involvement in a case concerning a faulty telescopic ladder, in which the manufacturer issued a product recall. Following the death of a roofer who fell from a telescopic ladder in Oxfordshire Derbyshire TS examined two other types of telescopic ladders, both of which failed safety tests. Derbyshire TS then applied to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy for funding to investigate further. Telescopic ladders are regulated by EN131 part 6. The standard includes finger trapping, loading and torsion strength. Every one of the 10 ladders tested as part of Derbyshires further investigation failed the tests physically and technically. Ian Milward, from Derbyshire TS, said telescopic ladders are cheaper than they were 25 years ago, so are much more popular but, he added, safety has been compromised. The new guidance has been drawn up with trading standards support and is to be endorsed by the Health and Safety Executive. Istock.com / marIusFm77 The second director of a company that sold legal highs has pleaded guilty at Oxford Magistrates Court to six offences of supplying dangerous products to consumers, following an investigation by Oxfordshire Trading Standards. Alastair Mark Sanderson was given an 18-week custodial sentence, suspended for 24 months, and ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay 20,000 in costs. Sanderson was a director of