Deep funding cuts to Trading Standards could see legal services neglected and leave consumers exposed to rogue operators, watchdog the Legal Services Consumer Panel has warned.

The ‘level of detriment’ that could result and the impact on consumer confidence would make savings from slashing funding for Trading Standards a ‘false economy’, it argues.

The panel was responding to a consultation by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) on empowering consumers. It also reiterated its opposition to the transfer of its functions to Citizens Advice, as the government reforms consumer advocacy.

The watchdog has received written confirmation from BIS that there are no plans to transfer its functions to Citizens Advice. But it asserts that the provision of consumer information, advice and education in the legal sector is ‘disjointed and lacks coordination’.

See: the LSCP site.