We recognize that the law can be complex and businesses can have difficulty navigating the different laws that apply to them. Furthermore, there are several Regulators that oversee business, each with different areas of specialism, so there wasn’t a central body that could provide advice on all areas of the law.
Originally, working with other Trading Standards service departments in the Region and representatives from the business sector, we developed a website known as ERWIN which provides guidance to businesses on all the various pieces of legislation that apply to them. It not only simplifies legislation, but also categorises the legislation according to the business type and lists the legislation in order of priority so that businesses can easily see which are the most critical areas to get right first.
We have worked with our Environmental Health, Licensing and Fire & Rescue colleagues in order to expand the advice on ERWIN to now cover these services as well. We have strived to achieve this national, co-ordinated and consistent approach to Business Advice across a full range of regulatory services in order to provide a one-stop-shop website for businesses and will at the same time maintain continued and extensive consultation with business, as the project develops. This will help us to ensure that we uphold the original intention of this project - to deliver business advice and information in the way that businesses want.
What's more, this service to businesses continues be Free at the point of delivery.