Manchester City Council Bill [Lords](By Order)

It is not really a question of revoking pedlars licences. The point has been made several times, but I will repeat it for the hon. Gentleman's consideration. It actually does not matter how many pedlars licences are issued by the Greater Manchester police, because the people who peddle in Manchester may come from Dorset, Devon or Northumberland. A pedlars licence is national, which is one of the difficulties, because although it is necessary for street traders to be licensed locally, a pedlars licence can apply anywhere. When a trader is licensed locally, there is local control—the sort of localism of which most people in the House would probably approve. With the pedlar, that localism does not apply—people with accents rich and varied from the many parts of this great nation of ours can come into Manchester. The problem is that among them are the people who do sell dodgy watches, counterfeit goods and goods and services that simply do not work and rip off the public, or the people whose behaviour—through aggression or simply through sheer volume—is unacceptable. That problem has been controlled in areas where the powers have already been taken, such as here in London. Despite the concerns of the hon. Member for Christchurch about Westminster bridge, be there nothing so fair, the truth is that the powers have been used successfully, for example, to control pedlars and to prevent their setting up hotdog and hamburger stalls, which traditionally caused a nuisance in this city.