Search
Buckinghamshire & Surrey Trading Standards
Mission Statement
The Trading Standards service exists to:
- Protect individuals, communities and businesses from harm and financial loss
- Help business to thrive by maintaining a fair trading environment
- Improve the health and wellbeing of people and communities
- Fulfil our statutory responsibilities to deliver consumer and public protection services across Buckinghamshire and Surrey
Voluntary Roles
Undercover work to see if shops sell age restricted products!
Catch Underage Sales (ages 14 to 16): Help stop stores from selling age-restricted products like vapes, alcohol, and tobacco to minors by making test purchases.
You need to be able to follow instructions well, be reliable and confident to find, look at and purchase items in retail premises in a calm manner.
You will be asked to enter shops and attempt to purchase age restricted products acting as a regular member of the public would. Don't worry, our officers will be there (either in person or remotely) all the time!
Volunteers will always require written consent from a parent or guardian before taking part and will not be asked to visit premises near where they live, close to their school or anywhere they are likely to be recognised.
Young people will be collected from home and returned. Although volunteers are not paid, we do provide meal and refreshments during operations and a voucher to the value of £20 redeemable in a major high street retailer.
A certificate that can be used for Record of Achievement / Citizenship portfolios is also provided. Some volunteers have used participation in test purchase operations as part of their Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. It also looks good on your college or University applications!
Mystery shoppers
Love browsing stores?
This role is for you!
Help us check products by buying specific items. There will be a small amount of paperwork involved.
You will find, look at and sometimes buy items that Trading Standards want to check for safety or food safety.
Each visit will need to be recorded but please note that you would not be telling businesses what they are required to do.
You will be helping to keep others safe by spotting goods that could be dangerous.
This role is flexible, with no set times for carrying it out but tasks would need to be completed during the hours the businesses were open and within a set timeframe.
The items that you will be looking for and the problem features to look for will be explained to you.
Fight Scams Like a Champion
Become a Scam Champion: Educate Your Community!
Do you want to make a real difference in your community? Are you passionate about protecting people from the devastating effects of scams? We're looking for Scam Champions to help us spread awareness and empower people with the knowledge they need to stay safe.
What will you do?
As a Scam Champion, you'll become a community educator, delivering talks or writing articles to help people understand, identify, and avoid scams. You'll be a vital link in tackling the lack of awareness that makes people vulnerable to these financial crimes. We provide all the training you'll need, including a special session on the laws surrounding scams and valuable presentation tips. We also welcome your creative ideas for reaching people in new ways!
Who are we looking for?
We are looking for reliable and detail-conscious individuals who are confident speaking in front of groups. You'll need to be able to follow our guidance to ensure key information is included in your sessions and be able to commit to the sessions you sign up for.
This is a flexible role with no set hours, so you can fit it around your schedule. You can choose when and where you deliver sessions, keeping in mind when local communities are available.
Is this for you?
-
Do you enjoy public speaking or writing?
-
Are you reliable and committed?
-
Are you passionate about helping others?
We would be delighted to have you on our team. This is a fantastic opportunity to build your skills, give back to your community, and help make a real impact.
We welcome applications from students aged 16 and over who are undertaking their Duke of Edinburgh Award. Reasonable travel expenses will be reimbursed.
Ready to become a Scam Champion? Apply now and help us protect our communities!
Reasonable travel expenses will be reimbursed.
Scam Marshal - stop the scam mail!
We are looking for individuals living in Surrey and Buckinghamshire who are receiving scam mail.
You can find out more about scam mail at www.thinkjessica.com/shocking-facts/
Collect the scam mail that you receive and send it to the National Trading Standards Scam Team Freepost address so that it can be potentially utilised as evidence in future investigative and enforcement work.
Circles South East
Mission Statement
The object of the charity is to relieve the needs and promote the rehabilitation, treatment, education and care of persons who have committed, or who are likely to commit offences, particularly sexual offenses, against others, and the families of such persons and others affected by such offences.
General Interests
Creative Response Arts (Ltd) (Farnham)
Mission Statement
Creative Response is a small local charity offering arts-based workshops for people experiencing mental health, learning and physical difficulties.
In our central Farnham studio, practising artists work collaboratively with members from across Surrey and surrounding areas, guiding and facilitating the creation of paintings, drawings, sculpture and ceramics.
We are passionate advocates of the benefits of the arts for mental health and well-being, and our team are proud to have been serving the community for over 25 years.
General Interests
Police Care UK
Mission Statement
Police Care UK is a charity for serving and veteran police officers and staff, volunteers, and their families who have suffered any physical or psychological harm as a result of policing.
We are independent of the police service, and are funded entirely by donations and fundraising – we receive no money from government or forces for our work.
General Interests
Surrey Appropriate Adult Volunteer Service
SURREY APPROPRIATE ADULT VOLUNTEER SCHEME
Are you looking for a challenge? Do you have some spare time? Do you want to give something back to your community? Is justice important to you and do you like to see fair play?
If your answer is ‘yes’ to any of the above you may want to become an Appropriate Adult.
The Appropriate Adult Service offers support to vulnerable adults and young people who find themselves detained in Police custody. Being an Appropriate Adult is a challenging, fulfilling and rewarding role. The service SAAVS offer is 24 hour 365 days per year and each volunteer owns a regular weekly slot of between 6 and 8 hours.
What will be expected of me?
You don’t need previous knowledge of legal procedures or social work. The role of the Appropriate Adult is not to provide legal advice but to offer impartial support and be a friendly face in the absence of a family member or carer to people who may be feeling frightened, bewildered, and confused in an unfamiliar situation. As an Appropriate Adult you’ll join our team of volunteers and will be on call at times to suit you. You will be available to answer a call to custody in a swift and professional manner and have access to reliable transport. You will offer vital support to those who need it when they need it most.
What sort of person becomes an Appropriate Adult?
All sorts of people become Appropriate Adults and bring different skills to the team. Two things they all have in common is an excellent ability to communicate and a willingness to donate their free time to SAAVS.
Mission Statement
This scheme provides for an adult to be present when a juvenile or vulnerable adult is being interviewed in custody, when a parent or other representative is not available. The volunteers are all trained and ready to attend the police station at any time. This scheme is so successful that it has been the recipient of a number of prestigious awards and is now the only provider of this service to Surrey. The scheme is funded through Surrey Youth Justice Team and Surrey County Council's Mental Health Team.
Surrey Care Trust - Swingbridge Community Project (Guildford)
Mission Statement
Tackle disadvantage, social exclusion and hardship in local communities and to help people improve their life chances. We will reach out to people to equip them with the skills to improve their economic situation, to reduce their social isolation and to convince them that they have a valuable contribution to make to society.
Amongst the ways this is achieved are:
Helping people to help themselves for the longer term by providing life-changing opportunities through education and training.
- Running innovative programmes designed to keep disaffected and vulnerable young people in education, either at mainstream school or at one of our own learning centres, so that they achieve the skills and self-confidence they need for a successful and fulfilling life.
- Offering second chance learning and training to people of all ages whose lack of skills limits their opportunities and leaves them economically vulnerable.
- Making training and education programmes available to offenders and ex-offenders, both to improve their own life chances and to create safer communities by helping to reduce re-offending.
