Nottinghamshire County Council: Ensuring firms have the best start

Whether you run a new start-up company or an existing business, trying to keep up to date with legislation can be daunting, writes county council cabinet member John Cottee.

If you or your business are based in North Nottinghamshire, then our Trading Standards team can provide some free, bespoke advice and support as part of the East Midlands Accelerator project, which is funded by the UK government through the UK Community Renewal Fund.

Our Trading Standards officers are here to support local businesses. As experts in compliance and legislation, they have the specialist knowledge to help you and your business get things right from the start. For example, they can help you make sure that your products and services are accurately described and marketed correctly, or that any products you make are safe and suitable for their intended purpose.

This means that as a business owner you can be confident in any claims you make about your products and services. It also means avoiding any potentially costly corrective action that might be needed as a result of non-compliance with legislation. Getting things right first time also reduces the potential for customer complaints, thereby protecting your business’ reputation.

To be eligible for the free support, you or your business must be based in the districts of Mansfield, Newark and Sherwood or Bassetlaw, because these are the priority areas in Nottinghamshire identified by the government’s Community Renewal Fund. This additional support is available until September 30.

It is our hope that by providing this assistance to businesses, we will ensure new start-ups are more likely to succeed and have a reduced risk of future regulatory intervention due to non compliance with legislation. This in turn helps to create a safer community, a fairer trading environment and supports the county’s economic recovery post covid-19.

Businesses can find out more and apply for the free support by completing a business advice request

form on the Nottinghamshire Trading Standards website. Businesses will be contacted by Nottinghamshire Trading Standards within one working day.