Board Spotlight: Ron Gainsford OBE 

Ron joined the Code’s Management Board in 2022, bringing a wealth of consumer protection experience having led the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) as Chief Executive for eleven years. Ron also chairs the Code’s Advisory Forum.

How and when did your involvement with codes of practice begin? 

My career began in the 1970s – I joined Trading Standards when consumerism was on a new crest of excitement. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) arrived in 1973 and it soon started to create consumer codes of practice across a raft of consumer facing sectors as an alternative or supplement to regulation. The OFT Approved Codes Scheme grew out of those early years and was well established when the then government closed the OFT down in 2014. I had been CEO of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) in the run up to that closure and we worked with officials to transfer responsibility for Approved Codes to CTSI and to sustain and extend the scheme.  

I’ve always been a fan of consumer codes, recognising the important role they play in protecting consumers and developing good business practice, particularly when they are underpinned by a robust approvals regime such as that delivered by the CTSI. 

What prompted you to join the Code’s Management Board? 

My interest in consumer issues with new homes was sparked some years ago when the NHBC invited me to join its Consumer Committee. Customer satisfaction levels were much lower than I’d been used to seeing in other sectors. The OFT published a hard-hitting market study report in 2007 that prompted significant changes in the new homes sector, not least the emergence of the Consumer Code for Home Builders (CCHB). As a Vice President of CTSI I was delighted when the CCHB secured Stage 2 Approval from CTSI and its Consumer Codes Approval Board.  

My interest in new homes consumer issues has continued and when I was invited to join the CCHB Board as an independent non executive director I was really glad of the opportunity to contribute.   

You also chair the Advisory Forum. How important is that forum in influencing the work of the Code – and do its members always agree? 

The Forum is a creative force in bringing a wide range of developer, consumer, legal, financial and other interested parties together to share thoughts and ideas on matters affecting the quality of new homes and the consumer experience. The dialogue is always open, challenging, knowledgeable and positive. 

We have recently broadened the scope of knowledge and expertise on the Forum, prompted by the recent Bridgeman Review of the Code, and we have been joined by an independent consumer champion and the HomeOwners’ Alliance.  

 The Forum is a significant and influential part of the CCHB machinery of governance and works closely with the Management Board to inform decision-making. 

As the Advisory Forum grows in membership and scope so does the range of views, and contradictions, providing healthy and constructive debate on so many matters affecting the biggest purchase in the lives of most consumers. Its always a privilege to chair those discussions because everybody wants the same thing: a well-built efficient home for consumers, and an efficient and trusted financial and legal pathway to that purchase, which buyers have every right to expect. 

What do you feel are the biggest challenges for home buyers – and how does the Code help? 

New homes are increasingly technically complex. A buyer’s choice of home is often based on location rather than other standard purchasing factors, with the added emotional pressure of wanting the ‘dream home’. Developers may do their best to manage expectations with pre-purchase information and meetings, but there is still a risk that the dream won’t match the reality. Sometimes this is to do with failings on the part of the builder, and occasionally it can be due to unrealistic expectations.  

The Code anticipates much of this, working to ensure the purchase process is fair and that consumers are fully informed before they buy.  The Code is accessible to all builders regardless of size, via our supporting home warranty bodies, and the Independent Dispute Resolution Scheme (IDRS) provides a low cost and effective means to resolve disputes should they arise. 

The Code in my opinion, fills an essential role within the new homes marketplace and I’m proud to be associated with it. 

What are you most proud of in your career?  

I was honoured to be awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Honours List in 2010. I have always seen it as   recognition of the incredible role performed by my Trading Standards peers across the UK day in and day out. They are extraordinary professionals and strive to work as much for local and national businesses, as they do for consumers. 

How do you unwind after a long day? 

I have plenty of hobbies to choose from, whether it’s going for a ride on my Yamaha Tracer motorbike, playing golf, or settling down with a good book. Mind you, I also have nine grandchildren who are pretty good at distracting me from work!