7 June 2012 – Pedlars Act proposed amendments

Pedlars.info has amended all national legislation that impacts on pedlary and provided this to government via the Under Secretary of State for BIS Norman Lamb MP to form part of the ongoing consultation on Street Trading and Pedlary Law.

The amendments to the three main Acts (with downloadable links below) are attached to a covering letter (read here) from pedlars.info that explains pedlars concerns over the u-turn in policy about pedlary. The following is a summary of the key policy elements dated 2009 and subsequently changed without consultation in 2011:

URN 09/1074 6 Nov 2009:
Executive Summary…

to modernise the Pedlars Act
standardise & clarify operations to reduce burdens
produce national database of pedlars
remove certification requirement “being of good character” and instead include consideration of applicant’s trading history and previous offences
seek views on SD interpretation re pedlars of services no longer requiring certificates

URN11/542 March 2011:
Executive Summary…

joint consultation on modernising ST & P legislation
BIS discovers that the SD applies to retail sale of goods
BIS think that the SD authorisation scheme for certification is unjustified as it is too restrictive for reasons of residency & good character requirements
BIS believe pedlars should not be regulated under other schemes and therefore be deregulated to help free pedlars to trade across the UK
BIS believe ST licensing and consent is compatible but requires 2 regimes – established and temporary
BIS believe that LA’s may find justification to limit pedlary on evidence of public safety issues
BIS seeks…
to repeal the PA under the banner of deregulation
to remove provisions in private & local Acts & devolved regimes that make house to house pedlars subject to street trading regimes
to ensure pedlar freedom & prevent regulation by an other route by amending the current exemption from street trading regulation
to clearly redefine a pedlar’s exempted mode of trading
to amend ST licensing regimes to conform to the SD
not to broaden LA enforcement powers
no intention to remove additional enforcement powers already obtained by private Acts
to use secondary legislation
not to pursue guidance but will provide guidance on the changes
to remove right of appeal to Sect of State in CoW and LLAA and assign to magistrates
to include the principle developments in recent Parliamentary Hearings and to meet the terms of the Services Directive

BIS has failed to consult stakeholders over this most draconian policy u-turn to de-regulate pedlary and repeal the Pedlars Act. There are less restrictive measures available. Pedlars amendments to the Pedlars Act, the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act and the London Local Authorities Act fulfill the terms of the Services Directive in support of the 2009 policy to preserve and amend the Pedlars Act and update the relevant national legislation on Street Trading whilst reflecting outcomes in more recent Parliamentary Select Committee Hearings.