Memorandum by the Local Government Association
(MARKETS 30)
The Local Government Association discussed the
select committee inquiry into traditional retail markets with
a cross section of local authorities across the country. Some
councils have strong opinions on how markets operate and contribute
to the local community, and others do not. This reflects the variance
in local economic sectors that the LGA has pointed to in its recent
publication From recession to Recovery: the local dimension.
TRADITIONAL RETAIL
MARKETS TODAY
1. The type, strength and picture of traditional
retail markets in England vary considerably from area to area.
Some areas have reported a decline in specialist markets in the
last few years while others have seen a rise in the number of
regular specialist markets operating within their areas.
2. Generalising a picture that fits across the
whole of England is not helpful in the context of this inquiry
as local realities depend entirely on the location, environment
and demographics of the functional economic area. There is significant
variance within regions.
3. For example while Bournemouth have reported
a decline in the level of traditional street market and specialist
market activity in their area, Westminster City Council have reported
a stabilising of their traditional street market trade over the
last 10 years after a period of decline earlier. Westminster also
reports an increase in demand and provision of specialist, leisure
and farmers markets.
ECONOMIC AND
SOCIAL IMPACT
4. Again the economic, social and environmental
impact of retail markets will vary significantly from region to
region. Some councils, for example Chelmsford who have also submitted
evidence to the committee, use street trading as a vehicle to
promote community cohesion and social inclusion. Their town centre
management team works at leveraging opportunities for community
groups in street trading.
5. Markets in other areas can and do make positive
environmental contributions by providing produce with reduced
packaging/ waste, providing easy access to local and organic produce
and reducing the need for customer travel further a field.
6. In the current economic environment markets
may grow in importance to local economies as source of local employment
and business start-up opportunities.
7. Equally the economic downturn could see
an upsurge in problem traders, consumer scams and counterfeit
goods flooding in through markets. Local trading standards services
are best placed to deal with this issue should it prove a problem.
POTENTIAL OF
TRADITIONAL RETAIL
MARKETS
8. Local government is best placed to operate
markets in their community because they are able to integrate
its management into the wider physical, economic and social development
strategies of the local area.
LICENSING ISSUES
9. The LGA has been lobbied by some of its
membership to address the issue of illegal street trading and
in some case the issue of pedlars certificates being wrongly used
or providing an excuse for illegal street traders.
— Street trading is subject to statutory
controls, which allow local authorities to designate streets within
their area that will be subject to such controls.
— The 1871 and 1881 Pedlars Acts established
rules for pedlars, who would traditionally go door-to-door selling
their wares or skills. Today holders of pedlar's certificates
(which are available for a small charge from a local police station)
are exempt from controls and may trade wherever they choose.
— Whether an individual is operating within
the terms of a pedlar's certificate is a question of fact which
can only be ascertained through protracted observation, either
by CCTV or enforcement officers, which is extremely resource intensive.
— It hard to stop pedlars selling faulty
or unsafe products, while consumers have little chance of getting
their money back for substandard goods. Their products are often
poor in quality and even dangerous. Some councils have reported
that they can operate in groups, and may in some cases be linked
to local criminal gangs, obstructing passers by and using intimidating
and threatening behaviour.
— A LGA was conducted last year to assess
the scale of the problem. Of those that responded, 90% of local
authorities said pedlars were a problem. The vast majority of
councils supported new national legislation.
Manchester City Council Example
In the summer of 2006 acute problems were experienced
in Manchester City Centre with large groups of individuals trading,
most claiming to benefit from a pedlar's certificate.
Groups of up to 20 individuals were often found
selling goods such as balloons, flags, whistles etc from large,
wheeled stalls. Their presence not only caused obstructions to
pedestrians and projected a negative image of the area, but also
resulted in complaints from legitimate street traders in the area
who are subject to strict control by the City Council via conditions
on their licence.
Enforcement exercises were undertaken involving
licensing officers, trading standards, CCTV and GMP. Whilst this
exercise had some limited, short term, success it was extremely
labour intensive, and not sustainable in the long term.
Manchester City Council introduced a Private
Bill to Parliament to try to address this issue for their local
area. One of the main powers sought by the Bill is to remove the
"pedlar's exemption" on regulated streets, which would
negate the need for officers to spend long periods on surveillance
in order to obtain the necessary evidence to take the matter to
Court. Other powers such as seizure and forfeiture of goods, as
well as the power for officers to issue fixed penalty notices
were also included in the bill which passed its second reading
in October 2008.
10. Currently six councils have private
bills before parliament promoting a similar change to legislation
in their areas. These bills are Canterbury City Council Bill,
Bournemouth Borough Council Bill, Manchester City Council Bill,
Reading Borough Council Bill, Leeds City Council Bill and Nottingham
City Council Bill.
11. Similar legislation has been successfully
promoted in recent years in respect of London, Leicester, Liverpool,
Newcastle upon Tyne, Medway, and Maidstone.
12. The LGA believes that the government
should look into new national legislation to give councils in
all areas the power to regulate pedlars and /or illegal street
traders properly, rather than relying on councils promoting numerous
local bills (as is occurring at the moment).
13. The Department for Business, Enterprise
and Regulatory Reform conducted research into the issue of illegal
street trading last year. We are awaiting the findings of their
report and believe that the committee should take the BERR report
into consideration during the course of the inquiry.
| 
