A MOVE to take Trading Standards back in-house has been defended by council chiefs - who say the tactic is not an admission of "failure".

It was revealed last week that Worcestershire County Council is taking the service back over amid concerns funding cuts could leave it on the brink a legal challenge for not being up to scratch.

The move has now been formally endorsed by the Conservative cabinet, wrestling it away from Worcestershire Regulatory Services (WRS), a spin-off organisation managed by all seven councils in the county but hosted in Bromsgrove.

It comes after worry that the current 11 full-time equivalent staff faced being reduced to around 7.5 under the shared service due to funding cuts.

The support for Trading Standards will fall by £360,000 to just £450,000 next year, resulting in WRS saying it would need to shed staff under that offer.

During a cabinet meeting the leadership insisted bringing the service back in, which will result in no job losses, is not an admission of failure.

The service deals with problems like rogue traders, counterfeit products and dodgy marker sellers.

Councillor Anthony Blagg, the cabinet member for the environment, said: "It comes down to what we are here for, which is to serve the public.

"If you asked them 'do you want more people to tackle fraud in the county' I think the answer will be yes."

Councillor Marc Bayliss, the cabinet member for transformation and commissioning, said: "I've personally never seen shared services as a 'promised land'.

"This is not a failure, not an acknowledgement that something's gone wrong, it's just part of the process we are going through as part of the commissioning cycle.

"What matters is what works for us and what works for the people of Worcestershire."

Last week a council report said the risks of keeping it with WRS included "reputational" damage or even a Judicial Review for having a service which fails to meet its legal duties.

In Liverpool similar problems have led to a resident there starting a legal challenge by claiming its Trading Standards service is not good enough.

The council report also cited concerns about the service struggling to cope if a big disease was to spread in the county, something repeated at the cabinet meeting, with Councillor Lucy Hodgson referring to a "disease outbreak situation".

During the session Councillor Liz Tucker, who leads the opposition Lib Dem group, said she was "relieved" it was going back in-house.

"It's my understanding that 11 full-time equivalent staff is the bare minimum of what we need, and I'm glad the administration now agrees with that," she said.