SRS launch new 'Ask the Regulator' podcast 

The aim of the podcast is to make information and advice on all regulatory matters as easy as possible to access

21 September, 2021 

Working in partnership with Bro Radio, the enterprise and specialist services team have found in innovative way of sharing advice, guidance and changes to laws and regulations with businesses and consumers. 

We recently caught up with Jemma Cox, Business Engagement Officer and host of the podcast, to find out more about this new venture. 

Hi Jemma, thank you for taking the time to chat to us. First of all, where did the idea for the podcast come from?

"So, I work in the industry team and we have many different responsibilities within the team but one of them is business support. We coordinate training for businesses on topics like food safety and health and safety across Bridgend, Cardiff and the Vale.

"As a team, we were chatting about how we could communicate some of the upcoming changes to the law, or things we have learnt along the way that might help businesses and consumers in everyday situations. I think a lot of the time people don't realise or think about how trading standards can impact their day to day life. 

"I was recently on maternity leave and when I was going out for regular walks with the baby I started listening to podcasts. So I approached the team with the idea of us having a chat as a team in a podcast format. We wanted to do something that hadn't been done before. There are podcasts out there that give people money advice and things like that so we thought a consumer advice podcast might be useful. We're trying to keep the format short, around 20 minutes or so, and conversational.  

Has it been challenging pulling it together? In terms of thinking of content, recording, editing etc?

"One of the biggest things we considered before approaching Bro Radio with the idea of a podcast was the time commitment. We already have a lot of responsibilities as a team so we didn't want it to be something that was too time consuming. 

"And it actually hasn't taken up too much of our time in terms of recording. Thankfully Bro Radio have agreed to support us with the tech side of things, helping us to record the podcast and they do the editing as well.

"So the element that takes the most time for us is the planning of content. But because we work in a shared service there are lots of topics we can cover and lots of experts we can call on to take part. Our management team have been really supportive and encouraging and as it's a chat amongst colleagues so far everyone we have approached has been willing to take part. 

"We're also encouraging anybody (within the council or businesses) who has any questions to send them in so we can plan content around what people want to know. We've also looked at the most visited pages on our website so gain an understanding of what topics people are interested in."

So with that in mind, what topics will you be covering?

"The first podcast we recorded was on allergens. There's a change in law coming soon which we wanted to cover so that businesses were aware. But also for consumers, it's so common now for people to have allergies, we wanted to raise awareness of things to look out for. 

"We'll be recording a Halloween special which will be released in October - looking at cosmetics, costumes, food colourings and things like that. 

"And then it's National Safeguarding week in November so our November episode will be on safeguarding. 

What are you hoping people will gain from listening to the podcast?

"The idea behind the name 'Ask the Regulator' was to help businesses stay up to date with changes in laws and keep up to date with things that might affect their businesses. But it's also relevant for consumers and people's everyday lives.

"We hope that the information comes across in an accessible way that people can catch up with at a time to suit them. They don't necessarily have to be sitting at a desk, reading guidance or looking at a screen, they can listen on the go. And keeping the length to around 20 minutes was important for us because it's bitesize, although you'd be surprised how much content you can cover in 20 minutes." 

Thank you Jemma, that's been a really interesting chat. 

If you have any questions please do email the team so they can cover frequently asked questions in upcoming episodes of the podcast.

You can find the 'Ask the Regulator' podcast on the SRS website.