By Suzanne Cumberbatch The Government has said new powers proposed for council trading standards officers will empower consumers, without seeing a ‘compensation culture’ emerge. A Department of Trade and Industry consultation is considering representative powers for trading standards officers to represent groups of consumers in court, and help them recover damages for similar problems caused by the same company. ‘We initially consulted on this proposal in the DTI consumer strategy (2004),’ said trade minister Ian McCartney. ‘It is intended as a final measure for groups of consumers unable to obtain redress through other means,’ To avoid ‘spurious’ claims, actions could only be brought by designated bodies. Named consumers would have to demonstrate loss, and permission would have to be sought from the court prior to bringing a case. The Trading Standards Institute wholeheartedly supports the proposal as an efficient way for many customers to seek redress. ‘It’s hard to say how many cases each year will be brought, but trading standards officers working within local authorities have stated there could be hundreds,’ a policy officer said. Officers at Birmingham City Council, who are involved in the consultation process, estimated there could be 10 to 20 cases a year in Birmingham suitable for representative action. But the Alliance Against IP Theft warned it was still waiting for essential legislation to come into place. Director general, Susie Waters, said: ‘We’re monitoring these developments with interest, but we’re still awaiting section 107A of the Copyright and Designs Patent Act to be enacted. We’ve been waiting for 10 years. ‘There is a huge anomaly without this in place. Trading standards officers have no power to enforce a copyright law, they can only arrest over trademark law breaches.’ s.cumberbatch@hgluk.com