We help promote and maintain standards of animal health and welfare. We are responsible for enforcing over 150 acts, orders and regulations.

Contact Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06 for expert advice and guidance.

We are responsible for a wide range of consumer protection legislation which helps to ensure fair trading.

We generally need to issue a licence when petroleum products are dispensed through a petrol pump into a vehicle or stored on domestic premises. The annual licence fee depends on the amount stored.

We can give expert advice and guidance to Dorset businesses on a wide range of trading standards matters. Contact us for help on our business advice line 01305 (or 01202) 224702.

We provide information to help educate consumers and businesses about their rights, so that there are fewer misunderstandings. We can provide talks, displays and leaflets, and we regularly attend community events.

We are responsible for enforcing safety regulations covering many different areas such as toys, bicycles, cosmetics, crash helmets, plugs and sockets, bunk beds and electrical goods.

We have a responsibility to enforce the laws which cover the sale of certain goods to people who are too young to buy them.

We estimate that every week in the UK over a billion pounds of goods are weighed and measured at retail level alone. Our officers are responsible for ensuring that these measurements are correct. Spot checks on businesses are carried out. These spot checks reassure both consumers and honest traders of a fair market place.

Our health is affected by the food we eat. There are legal controls on the quality and ingredients of food, and legal requirements to provide detailed labelling on most food. This gives people the opportunity to choose carefully what they eat. We help to make sure that food is adequately labelled with information for people to make their choice, and to be able to compare available products.