An inspector calls, then another, then another ...

The ring of the bell that puts a smile on the face of the retailer as a customer comes to buy can ring hollow when it heralds instead yet another visit from an inspector.

bira has fought the increasing burden of inspections from multiple departments enforcing a bewildering array of regualtions and the even greater burden from multiple "test purchase" operations that have seen retailers with unblemished records "caught" in sting operations and prosecuted.

So it is engaging fully with the latest phase of the government's Red Tape Challenge which has concentrated so far on the laws themselves and is now challenging the way the burden of regulation really imposes itself on retailers - at the point of enforcement.

"There's an obvious problem with the mindset of regulators here," said Michael Weedon of bira "what the financial servies industry would call Compliance, high street regulators call Enforcement." Test purchasing to "enforce" rules on age-restricted sales has been particularly worrying for retailers as it is often carried out again and again. As one speaker from the drinks trade commented at a recent BIS conference, if an outlet is "test purchased" often enough, eventually a member of staff will make a mistake and the outlet will be "caught".

Shops also struggle with multiple inspector syndrome, where inspectors visit from a variety of departments. bira reckons that there should be one point of contact with the local authority and that assessment should concentrate on helping shops comply with regulation where risks exist.

Some big retailers currently benefit from Primary Authority arrangements, where one local authority acts as the ruling authority on regulatory issues even if the retailer has operations in every town in the country. bira argues both that there would be benefits to government in making this more widely available, especially in a time when cuts are making it likely that enforcement resources will be static or falling, and that this could help small shops resolve complex issues quickly and cheaply. It also argues that if Primary Authority does offer real benefits to big retailers it is anti-competitive to deny those same benefits to small shops.

Alan Hawkins, bira CEO commented: "The government has laid this challenge at the doors of enforcing authorities. It is even more important than the review of regulations themselves. It is on the shop doorstep that rules become realities. Reality is hard enough for independents at the moment. Let's ensure that they can comply with rules, rather than having them enforced against them."

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