Agenda item

The Committee considered a report on the review of the Council’s Street Collection Policy.

 

The Principal Officer (Licensing), Worcestershire Regulatory Services (WRS), introduced the report and in doing informed the Committee that, the Council regulated charitable collections taking place in any street or public place under the Police, Factories, etc (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1916.

 

The Council could regulate collections where there was a collection of money or the selling of articles for the benefit of charitable purposes (cash collections).

 

Street collections were an important method of fund raising for charitable

Causes.  However, they can cause annoyance to the public if not suitably

controlled and managed. This could lead to the public avoiding certain areas

where they believed they would be asked to donate money every time they

visited a certain area.  

 

The current Street Collection policy was approved by the Licensing Committee

on 22^nd September 2014 and took effect from the 1^st January 2015.  It had

therefore, been a number of years since the policy was last subject to review.

 

A revised version of the policy was therefore created, as detailed at Appendix

1 to the report.  The Licensing Committee had previously resolved that officers

should carry out a consultation exercise on the revised version of the policy. 

The consultation exercise was undertaken from 23^rd June 2022 to 27^th August

2022.

 

The following were all contacted and asked for their views on the updated policy

 document:

 

           

In addition, the consultation exercise was made available via the Council’s

website and publicised via the local press and social media channels.

 

During the consultation exercise, the only responses received were from the

Bromsgrove Centres Manager and the Markets Manager.   

 

The Centres Manager noted that the regulations, as set out in the policy

Document, included one that stated “collectors must remain within the location

as defined in the Permit and must remain stationary.”  The Centres Manager

had asked if Licensing Officers could work with her and the Markets Manager

to identify suitable locations for collectors to be positioned on Bromsgrove

High Street.  Officers were happy to do this but did not consider that any

changes to the revised policy were required in order to facilitate this.

 

The Markets Manager had requested whether additional requirements could

be included in the regulations to stop any collectors from being within the

immediate vicinity of any market trader, in order to ensure that anyone who

did not wish to make a donation to the charitable cause was not dissuaded

from visiting that market trader.

 

The Markets Manager had also requested whether the regulations could

make it explicit that collectors should not shake their tins, which he considered

to be a form of harassment of those who did not wish to make a donation.

 

Officers could see no particular concern with including these additional

conditions within the revised policy document and had therefore made

the amendments to the version of the policy consulted upon.  This further

revised version of the policy was detailed at Appendix 2 to the report.

 

Members were therefore, being asked to consider the responses received

during the consultation exercise and to resolve to adopt the revised version of

the Council’s Street Collection Policy, as detailed at Appendix 2 to the report,

with effect from 1^st October 2022.

 

In response to questions from Members, the Principal Officer (Licensing),

WRS, explained that cash collections could be regulated under the Street

Collection Policy, however, it did not cover face to face fundraisers who asked

people in the street or other public places to sign up to donating to charitable

causes by direct debit.  The Council therefore could not regulate this type of

collection, however, the Council had engaged with the Public Fundraising

Regulatory Association (PFRA) and had established a Site Management

Agreement to control this type of collection.

 

The Site Management Agreement restricted direct debit collections to just two

days of the week (Mondays and Wednesdays).  This avoids any clashes with

street (cash) collections and market days.

 

Members questioned street collection permits not normally being granted in the

Town Centre (St. John’s Ward), as St. John’s Ward no longer existed and that

the Town Centre was covered by three different ward areas:- Bromsgrove

Central, Sanders Park and Sidemoor.

 

In response the Principal Officer (Licensing) WRS, noted this and agreed to

amend the revised Street Collection Policy.

 

The Principal Officer (Licensing), WRS, further responded to questions from the

Committee with regard to buskers and Big Issue sellers.

 

RESOLVED that following the amendment to the revised Street Collection

Policy, with regard to the Ward Areas, as detailed in the preamble above, that

a)            the revised version of the Council’s Street Collection Policy, as detailed at Appendix 2 to the report, be approved with effect from 1^st October 2022.