Agenda item

To consider a joint report by the Built Environment and Public Protection Manager & the Public Protection Business Manager (copy attached) which seeks the Committee to examine and support proposals for the future introduction of ‘No Cold Calling Zones’ in the county

11.30am – 12pm

The Lead Member for Planning, Public Protection and Safer Communities introduced the report and appendices (previously circulated) which outlined how the No Cold Calling Zones in the county were currently administered.  The report also sought members’ views on new proposals for the process of introducing such zones in future.

During his introduction the Built Environment & Public Protection Manager emphasised that the Authority was not proposing to do away with ‘no cold calling zones’ or to prohibit the designation of new ‘no cold calling zones’, but due to pressures caused by diminishing financial resources North Wales Police no longer had the capacity to undertake the public engagement and consultation to establish new zones or to support the re-invigoration of established zones.  They would, however, continue to respond to complaints in relation to cold calling.  With a view to facilitating current zones to continue and new zones to be established the Council proposed that in future residents/communities who were interested in establishing ‘no cold calling zones’ would be expected to arrange the public engagement and consultation exercise themselves and that the costs of associated signage etc. would also have to be borne by the individuals or community groups instigating the application.  The Council would, however, support them with the process and provide them with a self-help toolkit, which would contain template documents for consultation, voting, launching the zone and evaluating its effectiveness.  The Council would also be willing to identify local businesses that may be willing to help with the costs of signage etc., whilst North Wales Police was willing to continue to supply window stickers, raise awareness at community events and via social media channels.   Between 2007 and 2016 circa 355 ‘no cold calling zones’ had been established in Denbighshire.  All zones had been established at the request of residents and/or the Police.  In 2017 a part review of the effectiveness of zones had been undertaken, the outcome of which had indicated that some residents were not aware that they lived in a ‘no cold calling zone’.  Nevertheless, the majority of those surveyed were of the view that deterrents such as ‘no cold calling zones’ were useful.

In response to members’ questions the Lead Member, Built Environment & Public Protection Manager, and the Public Protection Officer (Trading Standards):

·         advised that the prices quoted in the report for external signage informing people that they were entering a ‘no cold calling zone’ cost in the region of £200 per sign.  This was the price the Council had paid to its internal Sign Shop, prior to its closure.  It had won the contract at that time following a tendering process;

·         confirmed that the Council was willing to engage with any agency or organisations who wanted to support work relating to ‘no cold calling zones’ i.e.  OWL (operated by North Wales Police);

·         advised that the Council did not have any formal contract or service level agreement (SLA) in place with respect of a ‘No Cold Calling Zone’;

·         confirmed that traders were liable for prosecution if they made unsolicited visits to properties in ‘no cold calling zones’.  However, the Council’s Trading Standards Service initially preferred to undertake prevention work, including leafleting every home in the area with a view to protecting residents, especially vulnerable residents from cold callers and scammers;

·         advised that individuals and groups who wanted to establish a ‘no cold calling zone’ would generally have a vested interest in establishing the zone.  Once steps had been taken to establish a zone Trading Standards officers would check that all necessary measures had been taken in order to formally establish it within six months of the original request;

·         confirmed that it would be the Council’s Trading Standards Service who would be responsible for enforcement action against individuals or companies who disobeyed ‘no cold calling zone’ restrictions, this could extend to prosecuting the offender(s).  However, residents rarely wanted the ‘cold caller’ to be prosecuted unless a serious offence had taken place, usually a word of caution from the Trading Standards officer was sufficient to stop unwanted visits from continuing;

·         advised that the majority of Trading Standards work relating to ‘cold calling’ complaints involved gathering evidence and sharing it with other authorities.  Both the Council and North Wales Police had entered into a data sharing agreement to facilitate the sharing of intelligence and analysis.  This assisted both organisations to target resources to effectively deal with complaints; and

·         agreed that having a county-wide ‘no cold calling zone’ would be beneficial to all residents, particularly the vulnerable, if resources to support the concept were available

Members felt that the costs quoted for external signs was excessive and requested that officers request quotations from sign makers on current sign costs.  They also asked officers to ensure that all signs and stickers conformed with Denbighshire’s Welsh Language Policy, and were manufactured from environmentally friendly materials and recyclable.

In addition they requested that either a Council Briefing or training event be arranged for all county councillors on the Scambusters Programme.

At the conclusion of the discussion the Committee:

RESOLVED that subject to the above observations and the provision of costs for external signage and environmentally friendly stickers, to support the proposed future approach towards administering the introduction of ‘no cold calling zones’ and their operation.