HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
COMMUNITY SAFETY AND CULTURE CABINET PANEL
WEDNESDAY 13 JANUARY 2010 AT 2.00 P.M.
GOOD GUY PROJECT
Report of the Head of Trading Standards
Author: Guy PrattTel: 01727-813825
Executive Member: Keith Emsall, Community Safety and Culture
- Purpose of report
To update the Panel on the work of the Trading Standards Service in conjunction with Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) colleagues to tackle anti-social behaviour around Halloween and Bonfire night.
- Summary
2.1Hertfordshire Trading Standards Service has a duty to enforce the sale of fireworks to minors.
2.2The Trading Standards Service conducts test purchasing exercises during the period that fireworks can be legally sold by registered premises. During 2009 this was 15 October to 10 November.
2.3CDRP colleagues from Police and District/Borough Councils raise concerns about the level of anti social behaviour taking place within their boundaries every year around Halloween and Bonfire Night.
2.4Trading Standards sought to reduce the recorded levels of anti social behaviour involving fireworks by embarking upon a scheme known as Good Guy, a responsible firework retailer scheme.
2.5Good Guy had been operated across the Greater Manchester area for the last three years and involves a number of measures including reducing the sale period for fireworks by seven days.
2.6Retailers signed up to the Good Guy code and in return the CDRP placed an advert in a local publication promoting them as Good Guys.
2.7Trading Standards approached four CDRPs for funding to carry out pilot projects. These were Broxbourne, Dacorum, East Herts and Hertsmere.
2.8The figures for firework related anti-social behaviour showed a reduction of almost 48% in the four pilot areas.
2.9Trading Standards are seeking to roll out the project CountyWide in 2010.
2.10Trading Standards are seeking to engage with the large national retailers who refused to sign up in 2009 in order to have a greater percentage of businesses sign up to the scheme in 2010.
- Recommendation
3.1That the Panel notes and comments on the report.
4.Background
4.1The Firework Safety Regulations 1997, made under the Consumer Protection Act 1987, place a duty on Trading Standards to enforce the age restriction associated with fireworks, that is they cannot legally be sold to anyone under the age of eighteen.
4.2Levels of anti social behaviour (ASB) involving fireworks is a matter that is raised at CDRP meetings across the County, Trading Standards representatives volunteered to pilot a project that would seek to reduce levels of complaint during the main firework selling period.
4.3The local authorities in the Greater Manchester area have operated a Good Guy scheme for the past three years with reductions in ASB of around 30% being recorded.
4.4Four Pilot areas were chosen in Broxbourne, Dacorum, East Herts and Hertsmere. The first two areas had the highest recorded levels of firework related ASB in the County, whilst the latter two were running diversionary activities to reduce ASB which the Good Guy project sought to complement.
4.5Trading Standards staff visited all premises registered to store fireworks and asked them to sign up to the Good Guy project, this involved them agreeing to a number of conditions that they should adhere to during the firework season (see Appendix A, Retailer Agreement). This includedreducing the sale period for fireworks by 7days. In return the Trading Standards service ran a small advert in the local press advertising the Good Guy partners and supplied the premise with a retailer handbook.
4.6The figures for ASB involving fireworks showed a reduction of almost 48% across the four pilot areas.The average for the non participating areas was 40%. However East Herts and Dacorum saw drops of 64% and 77% respectively, whilst Hertsmere saw an increase in incidents and Trading Standards are in discussion with Police colleagues to establish the level of work that they had conducted in their diversionary activities to see if there had been a significant reduction in that resource.
4.7The percentage of businesses signing up was over 60% across the four CDRP areas. Unfortunately none of the large supermarket groups signed up despite being contacted re the matter in August 2009, they cited the fact that they had been contacted too late and had already made arrangements for their firework deliveries. It is the intention of the Trading Standards service to contact them in April 2010 in order to seek their support at the earliest opportunity.
5. Financial Implications
5.1There are no financial implications in respect of this report.
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