The Head of Regulatory Services and Community Safety has submitted a report to advise the Committee on the results from the public consultation on proposed changes to the Street Trading Policy and recommend a proposed Final Version of the Policy, for onward recommendation to Council.

Recommendations: That the General Purposes Licensing Committee resolves to:

1.    Note the outcomes from the public consultation on the Street Trading Policy review timeline;

2.    Endorse the Final Draft Street Trading Policy 2023 at Appendix B;

3.    Recommend the endorsed Policy to Council for adoption with effect from 01 April 2023, with section 5.9 (single use plastics) to take effect on 01 October 2023.

The Head of Regulatory Services and Community Safety had submitted a report to advise the Committee on the results from the public consultation on proposed changes to the Street Trading Policy and recommend a proposed Final Version of the Policy, for onward recommendation to Council.

The Business Regulation Team Manager introduced the report. It was highlighted that nearly a hundred representations from members of public, groups and street traders were received as a result of the public consultation that was carried out between 12 December 2022 and 13 January 2023.

The Business Regulation Team Manager also advised the Committee of the government ban on single-use plastics that would be introduced in October 2023 and gave assurance that BRT officers were to monitor its progress and advise should further changes to the Street Trading Policy were needed.

The Committee commented on the following points:

·         The provision on bins and requirements surrounding street traders outside the 20 metre parameter of a public litter bin.

·         Street trader responses received from the consultation and their general position on the proposed changes to the policy.

·         Inconsistencies in the conditions relating to the use of single-use plastics, recycled and part recycled materials as set out in the policy, section 28 and 29.

·         Clarity on charities and small events’ exemption as stipulated in section 15.2.

Cllr Lygo raised a question regarding the stipulation on the 20 metre litter bin policy and pointed out that there were two smoking bins at the entrance of the Town Hall within 3 metres of each other, he then queried what the impact would be on the street traders near the site if these bins were to be removed in line with county's policies to be smoke free by 2025. The Business Regulation Team Manager stated that it would need to be worked out and check back for a conclusive answer.

The Committee challenged the proposed delayed enforcement of the single-use plastic ban to 01 October 2023 given the insubstantial response from street traders. It added that when the motion was first put to Council, street traders were given a window of opportunity to use up existing stock in anticipation of the changes to the existing street trading policy.

Cllr Diggins proposed an amendment to section 17 of the policy that would require street traders to provide their own food waste bins, however following discussions and confirmation that this amendment would require public response through another consultation, she withdrew the amendment proposal.

The Committee agreed to adopt the proposed amendments to the Street Trading Policy as follows:

·         Removal of Section 29 under Annex 1 General Conditions for Street Trading Consents, "All packaging and utensils for use by customers shall be made of recycled or part recycled materials."

·         Rewording of Section 15.2 by deleting the word 'requirements' and replacing it with 'fees'.

Members of the Committee had also put forward an amendment to the recommendations that would bring the proposal in its entirety for Council approval effective 01 April 2023.

The Committee resolved  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19

The Head of Regulatory Services and Community Safety has submitted a report to update the Committee on progress with the Street Trading Policy Review Programme 2022-23 and seek approval for the draft Consultation Version to go out to public consultation.

Recommendation(s): That the General Purposes Licensing Committee resolves to:

1.    Note the current position and remaining proposed stages in the Street Trading Policy review timeline.

2.    Approve the draft Street Trading Policy Consultation Version at Appendix A to go out to public consultation.

3.    Note the proposed consultation arrangements.

4.    Recommend the proposed amendments to the Council’s Constitution (Appendix B) to Council for adoption.

David Stevens, Principal Lead Officer (Business Regulation Team), presented the report which set out an update on the progress of the Street Trading Policy Review Programme 2022-23 and sought the Committee's approval of the draft Consultation Version to go out to public consultation.

The Principal Lead Officer advised that the policy review timeline, endorsed by the General Purposes Licensing Committee at its meeting on 26 September 2022, was on target. He advised that it was anticipated that the public consultation exercise would run from Monday 12 December 2022 to Friday 13 January 2023.

Cllr Humberstone joined the meeting.

The Principal Lead Officer highlighted that the proposed draft Consultation Version introduced requirements including the use of sustainable food packaging and utensils and a ban on single-use plastic and helium balloons.

He also highlighted the proposed arrangements for Street Trading applications, renewals and debt management for those street traders who were in arrears. He added that the proposed draft Consultation Version sought to clarify arrangements in relation to charity and small community events.

In discussion, the Principal Lead Officer confirmed that the relevant internal Council teams would be consulted, including Environmental Sustainability, Waste Management, Economic Development and General Licensing.

In response to questions, the Principal Lead Officer confirmed that markets (e.g. Gloucester Green Market) were not within the scope of the policy.

The Committee requested that all those who made applications to the Event’s Team in the past year be notified of the consultation via email. The Principal Lead Officer undertook to pass on this request to the Events Team and to include the notification in the consultation plan.

The Committee requested the following amendments to the draft Consultation Version:

·         Add a definition for "single-use plastic and/or polystyrene" in the Glossary, reflecting the DEFRA definition

·         Include a narrative in the introduction section elaborating on the Council's guidance on Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change

·         Amend sub-section 5.8 by deleting the word 'normally'

·         Amend bullet point four in sub-section 5.8 by adding the words 'and sky lanterns'

·         Delete last bullet point in sub-section 5.8 and insert a new sub-section to form5.9 ‘Council will not allow the use, sale or distribution of single-use plastic in street trading in Oxford.’

·         State that the Council will provide guidance on environmental sustainability as detailed in 5.10(f)

·         Amend the consent conditions to include a requirement for Consent Holders to provide litter bins for customer use

·         Amend consent conditions to reflect the proposed amendments set out in the draft policy

The Committee resolved to:

1.    Note the current position and remaining proposed stages in the Street Trading Policy review timeline.

2.    Approve the draft Street Trading Policy Consultation Version (Appendix A) to go out to public consultation, subject to the amendments set out above.

3.    Delegate authority to the Principal Lead Officer (Business Regulation Team), to make the amendments to the draft Street Trading Policy Consultation Version (Appendix A) set out above, in consultation with the Chair of the General Licensing Purposes Committee.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15

The Head of Law and Governance has submitted a report to set before the General Purposes Licensing Committee a motion referred under Part 11.19(d) of Oxford City Council’s Constitution for consideration.

Recommendation(s): That the General Purposes Licensing Committee resolves to:

1.    Note and consider the contents of the report; and

2.    Agree the action it wishes to take.

Alice Courtney, Committee and Member Services Manager (Interim Acting), presented the report which set out a motion referred under Part 11.19(d) of Oxford City Council’s Constitution to the General Purposes Licensing Committee and summarised possible actions available to the Committee.

The Committee resolved to:

·         Note and consider the contents of this report.

·         Request that officers update the consultation draft of the Street TradingPolicy to reflect the points highlighted in the motion.

·         Request that the Chair of the General Purposes Licensing Committeecalls on the Cabinet Member for Health and Transport on behalf of theCommittee to:

                                 i.            Work with stakeholders including at the County Council to consider the feasibility of increasing the provision of street based electric power points for street traders including in parks to phase out the use of diesel generators for energy generation by street traders.

                               ii.            Explore ways to encourage street traders to transition to electric vehicles during the initial grace period for the ZEZ with the aim to require street traders to use electric vehicles in the medium term.