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Home authority principle
The Home Authority Principle has been developed by food and trading standards services as an aid to good enforcement practice and is supported throughout the United Kingdom.
The aim of the principle is to provide businesses with a home authority source of guidance and advice, provide a system for the resolution of disputes and ensure that there is effective liaison between local authorities. This helps us to ensure high standards of public protection are maintained.
A local authority acting as a home or originating authority will place special emphasis on the legality of goods and services originating within its area. It aims to prevent the law being broken by offering advice and guidance at source in order to maintain high standards of public protection at minimum cost.
The guidelines cannot remove the onus of compliance from business itself; nor remove the primary responsibility for enforcement from the authority in whose area a specific incident has taken place.
Definitions:
Home Authority - This is the local authority trading standards
department where the decision making part of a business is located.
The home authority will offer advice on good practice, regulation
and remedial action. It will also liaise with originating
authorities and enforcing authorities acting as the principal link
to the business.
Originating Authority - This is a local authority who has a
production part of a business in its area but, not the decision
making part. As an example a large manufacturing company may have a
variety of factories around the country. The originating authority
will review their local factory's quality and diligence procedures
and liaise with the home authority.
Enforcing Authority - All local authority trading standards
departments fulfil this role through the statutory duty placed upon
them to enforce the law and investigate any offences committed in
their particular area. They should liaise, consult and communicate
with the home authority when carrying out their duties.
Further information is available in the downloadable leaflet.