Consultation outcome

Modernising street trading and pedlar law

From:
Department for Business, Innovation & Skills
Published
6 November 2009
This was published under the 2005 to 2010 Labour government
This consultation has concluded

Download the full outcome

Street trading and pedlar laws: a joint consultation on modernising street trading and pedlar legislation, and on draft guidance on the current regime - government response

Ref: BIS/11/542

PDF, 471 KB, 110 pages

Detail of outcome

We will end certification for pedlars and repeal the Pedlars Acts, as deregulatory measures. We will also seek a better definition for the type of trading that should continue to be exempt from street trading laws. Two separate street trading licensing systems may be required: for temporary traders and for others. There may be a case for allowing local authorities to limit the number of pedlars trading in a particular place at a particular time, eg for public safety reasons. We’re seeking views on this via the additional consultation on draft regulations.

Feedback received

Modernising street trading and pedlar legislation: consultation responses

38.5 MB

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Detail of feedback received

We received 87 responses as follows:

  • 54 from local authorities
  • 13 from pedlars
  • 22 from others (including town centre managers, the police, Trading Standards offices and lawyers)

For many of the 33 questions, local authorities and pedlars expressed very different views on whether action was required and on the type of action.

Original consultation

Summary

The UK and Scottish governments are consulting on modernising the law that applies to controlling street trading.

This consultation ran from
to

Consultation description

In 2008 the government commissioned Durham University to look at the way that licensing and enforcement practices were applied. On publication of the research in 2009, we announced a full public consultation on national guidance and options for possible legislative change to street trading and pedlary laws.

The UK and Scottish governments are consulting on proposals for amending and modernising the law applying to the control of street trading and the certification of pedlars.

We want your views on the following main areas:

  • ways of making the street trading and pedlary regulatory system more proportionate and effective
  • providing local authorities with additional enforcement options for illegal street trading
  • updating the Pedlars Act 1871 to modernise the certification scheme and the definition of a pedlar
  • consider introducing a way for local authorities might exert proportionate limits on certified pedlar activity in designated areas
  • options for revoking the Pedlars Acts and providing for adequate regulation of itinerant traders within the street trading system
  • draft guidance on applying the current system in England and Wales for enforcement officers, street traders and pedlars looking at what acceptable street trading and pedlary practice is

Documents

Street trading and pedlar laws: a joint consultation on modernising street trading and pedlar legislation and on draft guidance on the current regime

Ref: BIS/09/1074

PDF, 439 KB, 90 pages

Published 6 November 2009

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