Undercover hairdressing reported to Barnsley trading standards

Barnsley Council has received 423 reports since lockdown began in March, it has revealed – including 13 about undercover hairdressing.
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Figures from Barnsley Council show officials have received 20 relating to the beauty industry, including allegations some barbers, hairdressers and beauty salons have been trading illegally.

The council’s trading standards team has taken enforcement action against one business, when they issued an improvement notice to a garden centre.

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However, of the 423 requests received, only 284 of the records were relevant. The others were related to out-of-area businesses, other matters, internal requests for services or false accusations.

Twenty complaints were made about shops not following social distancing guidelines, and two about shops selling non-essential items.

Ten complaints were made about pubs and club operating illegally, 14 about warehouses/manufacturers, and three about social distancing in care homes, including a lack of personal protective equipment.

A council statement said: “If a complaint has been made regarding businesses operating when they should be closed, we contact the business and ask them to stop their activity with immediate effect, stepping up enforcement if necessary.

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“The majority of businesses have complied following initial contact.

“If a complaint has been made about social distancing, we work with the business to help them identify areas requiring further control measures.”

Julia Burrows, council director of public health, said: “The majority of businesses in Barnsley took immediate action to close if they were required to do so because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Regulatory services have taken swift and decisive action where we have received complaints relating to businesses trading when they shouldn’t be, or not following and implementing social distancing measures as suggested by the government.

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“Most businesses we have approached have worked cooperatively with us and taken prompt and appropriate action.

“The majority of referrals regulatory services have received have been from businesses themselves asking for advice on reopening, showing they want to do the right thing and keep their staff and customers safe.

“We have been more than willing to offer support to businesses around this.”

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