Your business advice options

We are here to help whether you are thinking of starting your own business or if you are already established. We can assist you to work efficiently and effectively within regulatory requirements.

Buckinghamshire & Surrey's Trading Standards team has extensive experience of advising a variety of businesses from small family companies to international blue chip corporations.

If your business trades locally, nationally or internationally, we can offer or tailor support which helps to deliver your business goals.

Page contents:

About us

Consumer protection law means businesses must meet certain standards, which include protecting your customers. Looking after your customers not only makes good business sense but usually means that you will also be complying with the law and therefore not at risk of substantial financial penalties.

Our Trading Standards officers can help make compliance even easier for you, by ensuring your business is fair, competitive and legal. Our services are available through a flexible modular approach enabling you to choose the elements you need to provide the right level of support for your business.

We also work with other organisations such as local Economic Development Teams, Environmental Health, Chambers of Commerce, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and Better Business for All (BBfA) to help promote business growth and better regulation.

Please contact us if you require any further information.

Information services

We want all our local businesses to prosper, therefore Trading Standards provides a variety of free sources of information which are available on request.

  • Signposting to other sources of information
  • Website
  • Twitter
  • Mailshot alerts
  • Business scam alerts
  • Online information leaflets
  • Dedicated helpline
  • Dedicated email
  • Facebook
  • TS Alert!
  • Education projects
  • LinkedIn

Please contact us if you require any further information.

Business advice

Business advice and education is a vital part of Buckinghamshire & Surrey's Trading Standards service. The first time you use our business support, you will be asked some questions about your business and it is free for the first half hour, it will be charged in quarter hour units with a minimum of half an hour charge.

The options available include:

  • a business advice telephone and email help line
  • face to face meetings to talk you through consumer protection legislation, statutory defences for criminal law etc
  • virtual conference calls via a range of platforms - Teams, Zoom etc
  • information on changes to legislation which might affect your business
  • start-up advice for new businesses
  • signposting to other essential sources of information
  • detailed advice about printed and online marketing materials including labels to ensure you aren't misleading your customers and breaking the law
  • analysis of food or cosmetics and packaging by our Public Analyst
  • compliance assessments to identify potential areas for improvement or ways to strengthen your business procedures
  • access to advice from Environmental Health and Fire Safety through a single point of contact
  • tailored training for your business on consumer protection legislation is available at competitive half day or daily rates
  • advice and information relating to animal health matters remain free of charge.

Full details about our business services are set out in our terms and conditions. To qualify for the free half hour, your business must be in the counties of Buckinghamshire or Surrey. Requests for advice from a third party acting on behalf of your business, for example discussions with lawyers or consultants, will be chargeable. Please see our current fees and charges information.

'The prospect of allowing enforcing agencies access to your business can be a source of concern but we were impressed with Buckinghamshire & Surrey's understanding of our business needs and it did a great deal to put us at ease in the early stages of the agreement' Sean Turner, Health and Safety Manager, Caravan and Motorhome Club.

Please contact us if you require any further information.

What is Primary Authority

Find out more about Primary Authority and how it can support your business, and simply find out about regulation.

'Having an independent view on our working practices and how best to improve them is crucial to the wellbeing of our staff and growth of the business' Wendy Wastie, Solution EU Limited.

'Our Primary Authority has been invaluable with regards to Dreams being able to comply with the latest pricing guidelines as well as training for Commercial and Customer Services. It is two-way, open dialogue. The Commercial team here at Dreams is certainly better informed and more confident with the guidance and its ability to apply this to its Promotional Planning' David Jameson, Director of Merchandising & Supply Chain, Dreams Ltd.

Please contact us if you require any further information.

Eat Out Eat Well

Could your business be recognised for its healthy food options? The Eat Out Eat Well Award rewards caterers which offer healthy choices on their menus. With four levels, award winners can be restaurants, pubs, cafes, staff restaurants or schools. Find out how you can join the Eat Out Eat Well scheme for free today.

'We are proud to have six cafes that have achieved this prestigious award and will continue to develop and promote a range of healthier cooking methods and food for our customers' Chris Cregg, Places for People Leisure talking about Eat Out Eat Well.

Please contact us if you require any further information.

Approved traders

Customers value the reassurance provided by Trading Standards Approved and, to become an approved trader with any scheme and display its Trading Standards Approved mark, you must meet that scheme's membership criteria and pass its rigorous background checks.

To find out more information and join our local Trading Standards Approved scheme, take a look at our website traders4u.co.uk.

Please contact us if you require any further information.

Business training

We can provide training for your business at very reasonable rates. Recent training includes:

  • Toyota's customer service team on the 'Consumer Rights' legislation
  • a series of workshops for caterers on the 'Food Information Regulations'
  • lectures on food labelling at the University of Surrey.

'The training was excellent, the team is much more confident in handling aggressive and difficult calls. The trainer was very responsive, tailoring delivery to current issues and experiences, even identifying ways he could help from overhearing a difficult call' Rachel Rollason, Toyota GB PLC.

Please contact us if you require any further information.

Contact Us

Our Business Advice line is available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm (Bank holidays excluded)

In this section