Agenda item

The Committee received a report and powerpoint presentation on the initiatives being undertaken by the Trading Standards Division aimed at improving citizen’s quality of life at home and improving community resilience by reducing financial exploitation of vulnerable adults. The Committee noted that in 2014 the Division in response to statutory obligations in relation to financial abuse and policy changes brought by the Social Services and Wellbeing Act 2014, had established the Financial Exploitation Safeguarding Scheme (FESS), a multiagency initiative designed to detect and prevent the financial abuse of vulnerable persons.

The following question/issues were raised on the report:

·        Reference was made to the potential for financial abuse of vulnerable persons by family and friends granted Power of Attorney to manage their financial affairs. Clarification was sought on what action, if any, could be taken to address that abuse.

The Committee was advised that a number of options were available and included a scheme operated since 2014 in conjunction with Barclays Bank and the Halifax Bank (and recently the Santander Bank) regarding the reporting of any unusual bank activity on a vulnerable persons account. That could then result in the initiation of a multi-disciplinary response to safeguard the vulnerable person and the prosecution of offenders by a relevant enforcement body.

Arising from the above reference was made on the need to raise awareness of those granted a Power of Attorney of the responsibilities attached to that grant.

·        Reference was made to the financial abuse that could be suffered from un-solicited telephone calls and the Committee was advised that the Division had purchased 220 telephone call blocking devices for installation within vulnerable persons’ homes to help protect them from such calls. Those devices, whilst requiring callers to identify themselves also advised that calls were being monitored by trading standards. To date, over 41,000 nuisance calls had been blocked and 67 vulnerable residents protected from nuisance spam calls.

Other avenues available to protect vulnerable persons from nuisance telephone calls included the Telephone Preference Service and similar blocking services offered by telecommunication companies whereby the caller had to identify themselves prior to the phone being answered. The advantage of those systems were they blocked automated calls.

In response to a question on how vulnerable persons could be referred to the department to receive a call blocking device, that could be undertaken in a variety of ways including referral via social services, the banks and intelligence led. The department also held ‘pop up’ sessions in banks and issued press releases to raise public awareness of telephone fraud.

·        It was recognised that in addition to nuisance telephone calls vulnerable persons could also be targeted via spam mail. The Committee was advised that in response to such activities, the Royal Mail, in conjunction with the National Trading Standards Board, had established a project to provide formal training to post office sorting offices in relation to Mass Mail Fraud. That training had already been provided to the Ammanford sorting office and would shortly be undertaken at the Carmarthen and Llanelli offices and included enabling postal employees to identify vulnerable persons who may be at risk from spam mail. Royal Mail could also write to vulnerable persons asking if they would like any such mail to be blocked.

·        In response to the issue of No Cold Calling Zones, it was confirmed that since 2008 the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 made it a criminal offence for businesses to cold call and any offences committed under that Act were punishable with a fine of £5,000 and 2 years imprisonment. However, where charitable door to door collections were made with the benefit of a licence issued by the Licensing Division, the collecting organisation was issued with a list of properties where they should not call.

·        Reference was made to the various initiatives being undertaken under the FESS umbrella and views expressed it would be advantageous for members to have a seminar thereon.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED