Agenda item

The Council, in its capacity as Licensing Authority, was required to consider applications and issue permits and licences for charitable collections which take place in public areas and from house to house. There was not any policy currently in force covering the new Council area for these activities and it was considered necessary and appropriate for such a policy to be prepared, consulted upon and published in order to ensure that applications for this type of authorisation were considered and determined in a fair, consistent and transparent manner.

Applications for both street and house to house collections were regularly received by the Council, although only one of the legacy district council areas (Wycombe) currently had policies in place for this type of licensable activity. It was therefore considered necessary to implement a new policy which sets out the Licensing Authority’s approach to considering and determining applications and also in relation to any necessary enforcement action across the whole Council area. The draft policy, attached as appendix 1 of the report, had been drafted for this purpose and it aimed to:

·         safeguard the interests of both donors and beneficiaries;

·         facilitate collections by bona fide charitable institutions and to ensure that good standards would be met;

·         prevent unlicensed collections from taking place; and

·         prevent nuisance and harassment to residents, businesses and visitors to the Council area.

The Licensing Committee were being asked to review the draft Charitable Collections Policy and, subject to any recommended amendments, approve the draft policy for consultation with relevant stakeholders and residents.

If approved by the Committee and subject to any suggested amendments, the draft policy would undergo a six-week consultation process with all relevant stakeholders, including affected charity organisations, town centre managers, Thames Valley Police, Community Safety officers, residents, businesses, Members, parish councils and Community Boards.

Following the consultation process, a further report would be presented to the Licensing Committee providing full details of any comments received and amendments proposed as a result.

Members were invited to ask questions of officers. In response to a question regarding retail parks and superstores, officers advised that the street collections legislation covered those areas, but what it did not cover was private areas where the public did not have access.

Officers clarified that the Council currently received in the region of 150 applications each for House to House collection licences and street collection permits each year.

A Member questioned why there was a need for the policy if complaints in relation to unlicensed collectors were rare and subsequently little enforcement action was generally required. In response, the Committee was advised that there was not currently a policy in force covering the new Council area and therefore, there was a need for a single policy to be introduced to ensure that applications were considered and determined in a fair, consistent and transparent manner. The new draft policy sets out the Licensing Authority’s approach to considering and determining applications and also in relation to any necessary enforcement action across the whole Council area. A harmonised policy would not only benefit members of the public, but also the charities themselves by ensuring that the Council processes applications in a consistent way.  For example, a clear policy would help prevent multiple collectors in one location on one day, thus benefiting charities and also the public.

In response to a question regarding why the draft policy didn’t require all charities to be registered with the Charity Commission, officers explained that whilst ideally all charities would be registered with the Charity Commission the process for doing so was quite onerous and therefore there might be some smaller charities, which due to exceptional circumstances, would not be registered with the Charity Commission.  Following a question on whether Community Interest Companies were covered under the draft policy, officers agreed to look into this and report back to the Committee.

In relation to paragraph 2.12 of the draft policy, which stated that evidence of public liability insurance cover of a minimum of £5 million must be provided with the application, officers explained that this amount of cover was chosen based on the experience of other similar activities which the Council regulated such as the Pavement Licensing Scheme.  Stakeholders would be given the opportunity to comment on the amount of cover as part of the consultation process.

Reference was made to paragraph 3.26 of the report which stated that collections would generally only be permitted between the hours of 08:00 and 20:00. Officers explained that these hours were chosen as a starting point for the consultation and could be looked at again depending on the outcome of the consultation.

Officers confirmed that the draft policy included a prohibition on collections where a property displayed a notice preventing cold calling.  With regards to paragraph 2.8 of the draft policy which stated that only one house to house collection would be permitted to any one charitable organisation in each calendar quarter, it was clarified that this meant in total and not per ward. This had been included in the draft policy to ensure that all charities would have equal opportunities to apply.

With regard to enforcement, the draft policy sets out the Licensing Authority’s approach in relation to any necessary enforcement action across the whole Council area.  Council officers who were out in the community, for example the Council’s Community Safety officers, would be part of the consultation process and therefore would be aware of the policy and the requirements.  In terms of enforcement, the Council was very reliant on people reporting any issues with collectors.   The licensing requirements set out in the new policy would be promoted through media channels and the consultation process itself.  The new policy would be published on the Council’s website, along with details of all issued licences and permits which would enable members of the public to check whether a collector had a licence or a permit. 

A comment was made by a Member that the introduction of a new policy provided an opportunity to introduce a far more robust method for checking individual collectors via a registration process. Officers explained that whilst this was a good idea, collections were regulated through legal provisions and therefore there would be limited scope for the Council to implement its own scheme.  However, officers agreed to look into it further and would ask the relevant Secretary of State as to whether this was something which could be investigated at a national level.

With regards to the use of animals in collections, it was noted that applications which included the use of animals would be subject to additional scrutiny. In these situations, applications would be referred to officers who specialise in the animal welfare side of licensing to look at the risk assessments.  It was likely that an officer would also carry out a spot check on the activity to ensure the welfare of the animal was being met.

Following a suggestion by a Member, it was agreed that the wording in the draft policy should be updated prior to consultation to include reference to the use of card payments.

On a vote being taken the recommendation was proposed by Cllr Barnes and seconded by Cllr Town and: -

RESOLVED that the draft Charitable Collections Policy attached at Appendix 1 of the report, subject to amendments as set out in the minute above, be approved for consultation with relevant stakeholders and residents.