Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to increase the amount charged by the Council to renew a street trader licence. We have not seen enough evidence of fault in the way the Council made the decision to increase the fee to justify an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council has increased the fee for renewing a street trader licence by more than 100% than the fees charge for the last few years.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Street trading is governed by the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982. Paragraph 9 (1) of Schedule 4 provides a council may charge such fees as they consider reasonable for the grant or renewal of a street trading licence or consent. The fees charged should reflect the cost of administering the street trading licence or consent scheme, including processing and compliance with the consents.
6. Mrs X complains the Council has increased its fee to renew a street trader licence by more than 100% compared to the previous few years.
7. The Council says its fees are set to recover costs, and that it has not been resourcing its Street Trading function as needed or recovering its costs in the last few years. It also confirms that in 2019 the fee was £795, so although the fees for the last three years were lower that the current fee of £787, it has charged higher fee in the past.
8. Councils are entitled to set their own policies. It is not our role to decide the Council’s policy and what fees it should be charging. Our role is to examine how the Council made its decisions and whether there was any fault in that process.
9. Mr X is unhappy with the substantial increase in the street trading licence renewal fee. And that it will not accept payment in instalments. But councils are not required to use a particular scheme or follow a set format. The law allows councils to choose whether to, and if so how to, charge for street trading licensing. There is no evidence the fees charged exceeded the cost of running and enforcing the street trading scheme. And the fee appears similar to those charged by nearby authorities.
10. The current fee for 2024/2025 were approved at a meeting of the Council in February 2024.
11. The Council says it will be reviewing its policy and procedures for fees which it hopes will make it simpler for those involved.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because we have not seen evidence of fault in the way the Council made its decision to increase its fee for renewing a street trader licence.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman