When you enjoy a meal out, attend a local event, book a taxi, or buy goods from a shop or online, you will not be thinking about your county council officers who work quietly in the background to keep you safe. But every day in Monmouthshire, your Environmental Health and Trading Standards teams are doing exactly that.

They are the people who check that food premises meet hygiene standards, investigate noise and nuisance, respond to complaints about housing conditions, tackle fly-tipping and pollution and make sure events are safe for families to enjoy. They are also the ones standing up for residents against scams, illegal vapes and tobacco, rogue traders, unsafe products and unfair trading practices.

It’s vital work and mostly unseen.

But I am drawing your attention to this to underscore just how much you benefit from these teams as you go about your daily lives. They protect public health, support honest businesses, safeguard vulnerable people and help make our communities fairer, safer places to live.

In the past year alone, our Public Protection teams have dealt with thousands of service requests across food safety, housing, noise, environmental protection and consumer issues. They have supported the safe running of events across the county, carried out inspections of taxis, pubs and festivals, and worked closely with police, fire and health partners to keep people safe.

They’ve also been on the frontline tackling illegal vapes and tobacco, supporting animal welfare, and helping residents avoid scams and doorstep fraud. This is practical, hands-on work that makes a real difference to everyday life.

I don’t need to tell you that the pressures on these services are growing. The world is changing fast: the huge increase in online scams, the complex supply chains, more new products, and rising public health expectations all add to the challenges.

That’s why we are investing in these services and we are recruiting. We will strengthen our teams, support training and development, and make sure we have the skilled officers we need now and in the future.

So next time you enjoy a good meal out, attended a well-run event, buy a safe product or just benefit from peace of mind in your own home, I hope you will understand that your Environmental Health and Trading Standards officers are working quietly behind the scenes.

They may often be unseen, but they are absolutely essential and we should all salute them.