Test Purchase Volunteers Sought
28th May 2012
The Highland Council's Trading Standards are seeking young people to help them to check that businesses are not selling age-restricted products to those under the minimum age.
Leaflets produced in association with NHS Highland are being sent out to all Highland Council secondary schools, encouraging young people aged between 15½ and 16½ years old to volunteer to visits shops in the Highlands and carry out test purchases of age-restricted products such as cigarettes, solvents, fireworks, DVD movies and games.
Gordon Robb, Trading Standards Manager, said: "The laws that are in place to restrict the supply of products to young people are there to protect their health, safety and wellbeing and to prevent the kind of anti-social behavior that can be associated with the their supply. My officers will continue to advise businesses about their legal commitments and most businesses are happy to comply, but evidence of non-compliance from previous work done by us in Highland and from the experiences of other local authorities make it a necessary part of our job to carry out enforcement work in this area. In order to fulfil this job we are always looking for volunteers to help us with test purchasing exercises which take place regularly throughout the year."
Volunteers receive a certificate of participation to add to their records of achievements. Mr Robb explained: "Volunteering as a test purchaser demonstrates a service to the community and participation can be used as evidence of key skills for job applications or further education entrance forms and we will happily provide references for young people who assist us."
Mr Robb said that responsible retailers need not worry: "We are not trying to catch retailers out, we simply want to ensure they are following good practices and procedures to comply with age restricted sales laws. The volunteer is never asked to lie to the retailer about their age and we follow a strict protocol to ensure the welfare of the young person at all times".
If you, or someone you know, are aged between 15½ and 16½ and would like to take part in future exercises or wish to find out more, contact Trading Standards by telephoning 01463 228700 or email trading.standards[AT]highland.gov.uk. Any young person interested in taking part will need to seek the permission from a parent or carer.
Related Businesses
Related Articles
At the Highland Council Economy and Infrastructure Committee. (Thursday 2 May 2024) Members had the opportunity to review the work the Council is doing to progress active travel and improve road safety before approving the next steps.
At the meeting of the Economy and Infrastructure Committee members had the opportunity to review the last two years of the Community Regeneration Funding Programme before agreeing changes to how the 2024/25 programme will be delivered. Committee Chair, Cllr Ken Gowans said: "Following a successful two years, it is a good time to review what has gone well and what can be done better so we can continue to build on success, and seamlessly move the focus onto how best to support the delivery of projects." "With 279 live projects and over £6million of committed funds still to be claimed, there is no doubt as to the value and impact of the programme's potential.
The Highland Council's In-House bus service pilot project was launched in January 2023. The success of its first year of operation in delivering savings and creating a valued and reliable service was highlighted at today’s Economy and Infrastructure Committee.
Members of Highland Council's Economy and Infrastructure Committee today (2 May 2024) approved the local authority's draft Ecology Strategy and Action Plan which will now move forward to an 12-week public consultation. The Ecology Strategy sets out an ambitious set of actions to tackle biodiversity loss and address the ecological emergency.
Economy and Infrastructure Committee members today (2 May 2024) agreed to direct £100K from the Council's share of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) to fund a new staff training programme at the Inverness Castle Experience. The funding will enable the project team to provide specialist visitor attraction training to young people identified through partners at Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) and the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI).
The Housing and Property Committee met on Wednesday 1 May 2024 and noted the Housing Service performance report 2023/24 that met the agreed priorities and associated initiatives in the Local Housing Strategy 2023-2028. The report highlighted a number of achievements in 2023/24 in increasing housing supply.
Kate Lackie, Malcolm MacLeod and Allan Gunn have been appointed as Assistant Chief Executives with The Highland Council. Convener of the Council, Cllr Bill Lobban said: "I am delighted to say that Kate Lackie, Malcolm MacLeod and Allan Gunn have been appointed as Assistant Chief Executives with The Highland Council.
As intimated in Highland Council's budget plan, a new senior management structure is to be implemented following approval by Council 14th March. It reconfigures the senior management team into two layers, rather than three and brings Highland Council into line with other benchmarked authorities.
Today, Morrison Construction introduced some of their local apprentices who are working on the UK Governments' Levelling Up Funded refurbishment project at the Northern Meeting Park in Inverness. All these apprentices have been recruited from the Highland area.
The by-election to elect a councillor to represent Ward 19 - Inverness South on The Highland Council has been won by Duncan Cameron McDonald - Independent who was one of the eight candidates who contested the vacancy. Voters in the ward went to the poll yesterday (Thursday 11 April) and the by-election count was held this morning in The Highland Council Headquarters in Inverness.
