Glasgow Commonwealth Games (Trading and Advertising) (Scotland) Regulations 2013 [Draft]
Good morning. I welcome members and the public to the 28th meeting of the Health and Sport Committee in 2013. As usual, I remind all of those present to switch off all mobile phones, BlackBerrys and other wireless devices that may interfere with our sound system. Members of the public may have noticed that some members and officials are using iPads and other tablet devices instead of hard copies of their papers.
Good morning. I thank the convener for inviting me to speak about these draft regulations, which I have laid for Parliament’s approval.
I thank the minister for that statement. Do members have any questions?
I would like clarification on one point. How will this affect street traders who operate in these areas at the moment, selling food or whatever? Will they need to pay for a new licence or will their existing rights be preserved?
Does Stuart Foubister want to respond?
They will need to pay for a new licence.
Will they then receive compensation? If they have to apply for a new licence, that means that they are prohibited from their normal ability to go about their business. What will happen if they are not able to purchase that new licence? Will they be compensated in some way for the removal of their business during the period of the games?
No, they would not be compensated.
The fee is £70.
The fee is not to exceed £70, so there will be some discretion for the organising committee.
That is obviously to cover the cost of administering the system.
If someone who is currently trading is not guaranteed a licence, they might lose their livelihood for the duration of the games, with devastating impact. I do not have examples, but it might be that newspaper vendors and the like would not make £70 during the period—or at least that might be a huge proportion of their profits.
There is a list of exempt categories, which include newspaper sales. If someone is currently trading from a fixed business, such as a cafe that has outside tables, they will not be affected. Newspapers are exempt, as I said, because they are not a product that could be associated with the games—they are just newspapers. I think that I am right in saying that periodicals are treated slightly differently.
That is correct.
Does that mean that people selling The Big Issue would be treated differently?
Charities are not exempt, but they will not have to pay the fee—is that correct?
Yes.
Although the individual would have to apply for authorisation, because they would be selling something, they would not have to pay the £70 fee.
Have existing traders in the area been consulted about and made aware of the arrangements?
Yes, they have been. The consultation responses were fairly positive—of course questions were asked. There has been quite a high level of engagement, and meetings have been held with local traders, to try to ensure that everyone understands what is required and that the content of the regulations is communicated in plain English.
Are people reasonably relaxed about the regulations?
Yes. No respondent questioned the need for regulations and responses were broadly positive. There were questions about the technical detail and how that might affect people. At the events that I mentioned, people were able to have their questions answered.
The committee considered the Glasgow Commonwealth Games Bill. Ambush marketing can undermine the sponsorship and partnership deals that are vital to the financial underpinning of the games business plan.
The prohibited times are set out in schedule 2 to the draft regulations and are different for each venue. For example, the prohibited time for the Hampden park precinct is from 23 July to 3 August, which is absolutely the period of the games, and the prohibited time for Ibrox stadium is 25 to 27 July, because that is when the stadium will be used as a venue. The period will not be the whole duration of the games for every venue, given that some venues will be used only for part of the 11 days of the games.
And when the prohibited period has elapsed, a regular street trader may continue with their business.
That is absolutely right. They can go back to normal trading.
Thank you. I wanted to tease out the context, because I imagine that people who sell goods during the games will see a significant increase in visitors to the area. There is a huge opportunity for local retailers.
Of course, the regulations will not affect people who operate from permanent locations, such as shops and—I am not sure how to describe them; should I say “fixed venues”?
We are talking about people who operate within buildings.
Yes. Obviously the regulations will not affect those people. There are restrictions on advertising for those businesses but not on trading.
Just out of interest, did you consider what happened in the Olympic games? Were any comparisons to be drawn from that? Have you followed suit?
Yes. The set of arrangements is very similar. At the Olympics, there were around 894 cases of ambush marketing in which, essentially, warnings were given. In the main, people were unaware that they were infringing or breaking the rules. People were not intent on doing that; rather, they misunderstood. That shows that there is an issue that must be addressed. We have learned quite a few lessons from the Olympics in that regard, and we structured the regulations in accordance with lessons that were learned from them.
I do not want to prolong the discussion too much, but it would be interesting to know how the street traders were consulted. My impression, which may be totally wrong, is that street traders are not in any organised groups. Based on experience elsewhere, such as in Manchester or London, how many licences are expected to be given out? When will they be available for those who wish to participate in street trading?
I will hand that question over to Jane MacPherson. An informal consultation meeting with traders was held back in January. They were contacted through various means of communication. Most traders have a point of communication.
How many turned up?
Does Jane MacPherson want to add some detail?
Yes. It was a very good point that engaging with that group is very difficult. We have sent to a number of traders to try to get them to come and talk to us about the regulations. One trader turned up at the meeting.
One?
That was not hugely representative. The trader was fairly relaxed about the regulations and just wanted to ensure that the guidance would be clear about what they were and were not allowed to do.
As committee members have no more questions, we will move to item 2, which is the formal debate on the draft Glasgow Commonwealth Games (Trading and Advertising) (Scotland) Regulations 2013, on which we have just taken evidence. I invite the minister to move motion S4M-07761.
I do not want to unduly extend a debate that may not be necessary, but the fact that only one trader turned up at the meeting that was mentioned does not surprise me in light of how difficult I know it is to reach that group.
That is a fair point. The local authorities are key, not least because they will have the enforcement officers. Their local knowledge will be very important. We will certainly feed back the fact that, particularly when it comes to communicating requirements and ensuring that street traders understand them and are communicated with well, the local authority’s role will be important.
I thank the minister and the officials and suspend the meeting briefly while we make arrangements for our next panel.