Canterbury City Council Bill

Of course, Madam Deputy Speaker. I could go on at length about ticket touting, because it is a subject about which I feel strongly, but I will certainly accept your ruling and move on. I turn to clause 5 in both Bills, about which I have particular concerns. As my hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch indicated, at the moment pedlars obtain a certificate from the police that entitles them to act under its authority anywhere in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for a period of one year. After that time they need to renew it and we start all over again. The problem with the clause is that all people who wish to take part in the activity in question will have to be licensed by the consent of the council if they wish to carry on street trading, in order to be subject to the controls in schedule 4 to the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982. The whole tenor of these Bills is, if not to harass pedlars, as my hon. Friend said, certainly to make it abundantly clear that they are not welcome in the cities in question and to move them on. My concern is that even though someone may have a perfectly valid pedlar's certificate that has been granted by the police, because they will now have to be given certificates by the local council and have the council's consent to operate, it will be made abundantly clear to them that they are not wanted. The Bills might go through the charade of laying down rules and regulations to make pedlars know where they stand, but I fear that councils will use clause 5 in particular to make it clear that they do not want pedlars and have no desire to give them a certificate, that they will not be licensed and that they should move on. The tenor of the Bill is rather sinister in that respect, because everything in it is designed to make life as uncomfortable as possible for pedlars, even when they are not behaving in a manner that is of any concern to anyone and when they are just going about their legitimate business. We should not support legislation with such an edge to it.