Sarah Dyke MP – Parliamentary Questions

The Hon. Sarah Dyke MP
House of Commons
London SW1A 0AA

Monday 22 June 2026

Dear Ms Dyke,

Parliamentary Questions Concerning Pedlars

I write as a person with a long-standing interest in the law relating to certificated pedlars and the operation of the Pedlars Act 1871.

I recently noted your written parliamentary questions to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade concerning:

1. The sale of goods by pedlars and compliance with product safety requirements, including CE and UKCA marking (Question tabled 4 June 2026); and
2. The effectiveness of enforcement of legislation regulating pedlars and the processes used to verify pedlars’ certificates (Question tabled 19 June 2026).

The questions have attracted considerable interest within the pedlar community because they concern matters that are not ordinarily raised in Parliament and appear to focus specifically on certificated pedlars rather than on retail traders generally.

In the interests of transparency, I would be grateful if you could clarify the background to these questions.

In particular:

1. What information, concerns, complaints, or representations led you to table the question concerning CE and UKCA marking by pedlars?
2. Were these questions prompted by correspondence or discussions with any local authority, police force, trading standards authority, Business Improvement District, market operator, street trading organisation, market traders’ association, or other stakeholder body?
3. Did any external organisation or individual specifically request, suggest, encourage, or assist in the drafting of either question?
4. Have you received representations from any lobbying or campaigning organisations regarding certificated pedlars or the Pedlars Act 1871 during the last two years?
5. If so, would you be willing to identify the organisations concerned and the general nature of the representations made?
6. Have you held any meetings, formal or informal, with representatives of local authorities, market traders, street trading interests, Business Improvement Districts, or other organisations regarding pedlary prior to tabling these questions?

The first question was particularly noteworthy because responsibility for the enforcement of product safety legislation, including CE and UKCA marking requirements, ordinarily falls to local authority Trading Standards services rather than police forces. This has led some certificated pedlars to wonder what information or concerns gave rise to the question and whether representations had been received from organisations involved in street trading regulation.

I am sure you will appreciate that certificated pedlars have experienced significant legal disputes with certain local authorities in recent years concerning the scope and interpretation of the Pedlars Act 1871. In that context, transparency regarding the origin of parliamentary questions touching upon pedlary would be greatly welcomed.

I would therefore be grateful for any clarification you are able to provide.

Yours sincerely,

Robert Campbell-Lloyd
Administrator, Pedlars.info

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