Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions her Department has had with local authority Trading Standards services regarding the resourcing and enforcement of retail country-of-origin labelling compliance.

Under consumer protection legislation enforced locally by Trading Standards, it is illegal to mislead consumers as to the nature of a product through labelling or other marketing.

With respect to food labelling, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Food Standards Agency work closely with Local Authority Enforcement Officers who enforce food labelling rules in the UK, including country-of-origin labelling requirements.

Resourcing of Trading Standards is a matter for the relevant local authority. The final 2026-27 Local Government Finance Settlement makes available £78 billion in Core Spending Power for local authorities in England in 2026-27, a 6.1% increase compared to 2025-26.

The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities.