North Lanarkshire Trading Standards and Police Scotland Receive Chartered Trading Standards Institute Recognition

That the Parliament recognises that the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) has confirmed that North Lanarkshire Council Trading Standards and Police Scotland have been selected as winners of the CTSI Hero Outstanding Project award 2023; understands that the award recognises the efforts of their partnership to tackle doorstep crime, intellectual property crime, underage sales and the disruption of serious and organised crime; notes that the CTSI Hero Awards celebrate individuals, groups and organisations that make outstanding contributions in protecting consumers within Scotland's communities; understands that North Lanarkshire Council’s trading standards team works in close partnership with Police Scotland to tackle serious and organised crime, and that the partnership is led by Police Scotland area inspector Susan Rae and North Lanarkshire Council senior trading standards officer, Anne Marie Spalding; recognises what it sees as the impact that the team has had, and understands that Anne Marie and Susan developed a pilot project with joint initiatives on under-age sales, doorstep crime, anti-counterfeiting and other areas of serious and organised crime of joint interest; believes that these have shown significant outcomes in the area, including the establishment of North Lanarkshire’s first No Cold Calling Zone, delivery of joint roaming patrols across North Lanarkshire, with a focus on doorstep crime hotspots, the provision of information packages to wardens of 34 North Lanarkshire Council sheltered housing complexes, offering a supply of stickers, leaflets and free call blockers to vulnerable residents, the establishment of community alcohol partnerships with core group partners, including education, trading standards, licence standards and youth services, and the establishment of a joint initiative to tackle fly tipping by serious and organised crime gangs; congratulates North Lanarkshire Council Trading Standards and Police Scotland on this achievement, and wishes them all the best for the future with their successful partnership.