HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
COMMUNITY SAFETY AND CULTURE CABINET PANEL
WEDNESDAY 11NOVEMBER 2009 AT 2.00P.M.
ERWIN BUSINESS ADVICE PROJECT
Report of the Head Of Trading Standards
Author: Guy PrattTel: 01727 823825
Executive Member: Keith Emsall, Community Safety and Culture
- Purpose of report
1.1.This report provides information to Members on an innovative website based approach to provide businesses with clearer and more useful business advice.
- Summary
2.1.ERWIN(Everything Regulation whenever it’s needed) is a new website based initiative which looks to make business advice more accessible, relevant and useful to businesses.
2.2.By using ERWIN, Hertfordshire Traders will save valuable time and effort through the provision of clear targeted practical advice, removing the need to search through irrelevant complex legislation.
2.3.Although not intended to be a replacement for face to face or direct contact from business on complex matters, ERWIN allows Trading Standards to provide consistent, co-ordinated and prioritised regulatory advice to Hertfordshire businesses 24 Hours a day 7 days a week.
2.4.Users accessing ERWIN from Herts Direct will see the HCC logo on the website, maintaining corporate image.
- Recommendations
3.1.The Panel is invited to note the Trading Standards participation in this project and to support Trading Standards and East of England Trading Standards (EETSA) in using and promoting this project with regulatory partners and the business community.
3.2.The Panel is invited to comment on value of the site in relation to providing clear concise advice to Hertfordshire businesses.
- Background
4.1.Unnecessary rules and procedures are the business communities ‘biggest headache’. Every year almost half of businesses seek external advice about how to follow regulations, spending at least £1.4 billion.
4.2.The East of England Trading Standards Authorities (EETSA), of which Hertfordshire Trading Standards is a member, wanted to enhance their support services to business and increase regional consistency when providing business advice. To establish the best way to do this, they consulted with many small and medium sized businesses.
4.3.The message from business was clear; they wanted simple, prioritised and consistent business advice,available when they really needed it.
4.4.This was achieved by developing aninnovative website based resource.
4.5. ‘ERWIN’, an acronym for ‘Everything Regulation Whenever it’s needed’ was chosen as the name to spearhead the project. The name encompassed the two main aims of the website;providing businesses with all the regulatory support they needed, when they really needed it.
4.6.In practice, the website offers businesses the following benefits;
4.6.1.Simplified – It is able to provide clear and simple practical guidance on how to comply with the law.
4.6.2.Bespoke – Businesses have the ability to input their personal settings in order to ensure the information and advice is always relevant for them. These can be amended at any time, so as their business evolves, so does the advice they are provided.
4.6.3.Prioritised – When the bespoke legislation is listed for the business, they are categorised into Red (high) and Amber (normal) priority ratings. The most vital legislation is at the top of the list.
4.6.4.Check-listed – Once they have worked through the legislation notes, businesses can tick the box to move onto the next area. This information is saved for their next visit to the site.
4.6.5.Free at the point of delivery to end users
4.7.In time, ERWIN will become a collaborative web resource for all Trading Standards, Environmental health, Fire and Rescue and licensing departments across England and Wales. In short, a one stop shop for business advice.
4.8.ERWIN has recently been commended in the Local Better Regulation Office (LBRO) publication ‘Better Local Regulation; Supporting Business towards recovery’.
4.9.ERWINis considered to be ahead of its time. The 2008 Enterprise Strategy asked Sarah Anderson CBE to conduct an independent review looking into the best ways Government can give business advice. Although ERWIN was in the late stages of development at the time of the report, many of the conclusions drawn from the report (and since adopted by Government departments) are satisfied by the ERWIN project.
5. Financial implications
There are no financial implications for HCC as a result of this initiative. All costs of the project were funded by LBRO and BIS (formally BERR, formally the DTI).Incidental costs in maintaining or updating the site will be contained within EETSA.
Trading Standards has already identified £23,000 of efficiency savings in relation to this project, and these have been realized from 2009/2010 onwards.
Background Papers
- Better local Regulation; Supporting Business towards recovery – LBRO.
- The Anderson review. The good guidance guide: taking the uncertainty out of regulation Jan 2009.
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