Nottinghamshire Trading Standards, part of Nottinghamshire County Council, is working with the East Midlands Chamber of Commerce to deliver the East Midlands Accelerator project, which aims to help create jobs, support digital adoption, and accelerate low-carbon transition. The East Midlands Accelerator Project has received a total of £5.27m from the UK Government through the UK Community Renewal Fund, with East Midlands Chamber providing £490,000 of match funding.

Nottinghamshire Trading Standards has a team of dedicated specialists that can provide bespoke support to businesses to ensure they don’t get caught up in compliance red tape. As experts, their role within the East Midlands Accelerator is to help businesses with things like:

• Ensuring products are safe and suitable for their intended purpose
• Marketing and promoting products or services lawfully and staff training
• Substantiating claims that a business makes about its products or services
• The new age restrictions on sales of Botox style procedures and dermal fillers by beauty salons
• For the food industry and pet food industry, advice on product labelling to ensure it accurately reflects the composition of the food being sold

To be eligible for the free support businesses must be based in the Districts of Mansfield, Newark and Sherwood or Bassetlaw, which are the priority areas in Nottinghamshire that have been identified by the Government’s Community Renewal Fund. This additional support for businesses in these areas of North Nottinghamshire is available until 30 June 2022.

By providing this assistance to businesses, Nottinghamshire Trading Standards will be able to 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.

Coun John Cottee, chairman of the Communities Committee said “Our Trading Standards officers are here to support local businesses. As experts in compliance and legislation they can help businesses get things right from the start by ensuring that their products and services are accurately described and marketed correctly.

“This means that businesses can be confident in any claims they make about their products and services. It also means that they will avoid 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 the business’ reputation.”

Businesses can find out more and apply for the free support by completing a ‘Business Advice Request Form’ on the Nottinghamshire Trading Standards website: Free Trading Standards Business Advice | Nottinghamshire County Council. After filling out this simple form, the business will be contacted by Nottinghamshire Trading Standards within one working day.