New rules on street fundraising in Brighton & Hove

New rules on street fundraising

A new street fundraising agreement covering responsible face-to-face fundraising in Brighton & Hove comes into force today (Monday 28 January).

The agreement between the council, the Brighton City Centre Business Improvement District (BID) and the Institute of Fundraising (IoF) covers the whole city. 

The agreement limits fundraising to a number of streets in the city centre and sets controls on when fundraising can take place, the number of fundraisers in a location and the frequency of visits a week. 

The aim of the ‘Site Management Agreement’ (SMA) is to provide a balance between the duty of charities as they raise vital funds and the rights of the public not to be put under undue pressure to give.

•   Read the Brighton & Hove Site Management Agreement in full (PDF 816KB)

Getting the balance right

The decision to review the city’s SMA was made at the Neighbourhoods, Inclusion, Communities & Equalities committee on 3 December 2018 following concerns raised about street fundraising in George Street in Hove.

The new agreement means no street fundraising activity will take place in George Street.

Councillor Emma Daniel, chair of the council’s Neighbourhoods, Inclusion, Communities & Equalities committee, said: 

“Street fundraising is an important way for charities to garner support, but we’ve listened to concerns that it has caused problems in some areas. This new site management agreement will help us get the balance right across the city. I‘m very pleased that we’ve been able to work with the Institute of Fundraisers and the Brighton BID to move so quickly on finding a solution.” 

Gavin Stewart, Chief Executive of the Brighton BID said:

“It’s great to be working closely with partners to ensure that charities have the visibility they need to raise funds, while balancing the needs of businesses and the public. We have worked with the IoF for many years now and welcome this new site management agreement, which I’m sure will deliver a better city centre experience for all involved.”

Alex Xavier, Director of Membership, Compliance and Professional Development at the IoF, said:

“I’m pleased that the IoF is working with Brighton & Hove City Council and the city centre Business Improvement District, Brilliant Brighton  to further improve the level of excellent fundraising in the city centre. Face-to-face fundraising and the work charities do to reach supporters in the Brighton & Hove area is vital to raise important funds for the causes the community cares about. 

“The fundraisers you meet on the street are there to have a personal, one-to-one conversation with members of the public to make a connection with a charitable cause. However, it’s important that these encounters are regulated and are pleasant experiences for the public.”

Street fundraising conditions

As well as setting controls on street fundraising, the new SMA also reiterates the Code of Fundraising Practice and the Street Fundraising Rule Book, which reinforce the rules that all fundraisers in the UK should follow. 

The IoF will support their members operating in Brighton & Hove through a programme of spot checks and continued co-regulation with the council partner. Breaches of the conditions of the SMA attract penalty points under our penalties and sanctions regime.

City Council Consults on Gambling Policy

As part of the statutory requirement to review BHCC Gambling Statement of Principles every 3 years, BHCC is reviewing the policy with some minor amendments, including changing the date and removing out of date information.  BHCC will be consulting for 8 weeks from 23 July 2018.

Brighton & Hove’s gambling policies and practices have been highlighted by the Gambling Commission as an examples of good practice, in particular the work and links developed with Public Health to tackle gambling related harm. 

As a result of the comprehensive review in 2016, where Licensing Officers, in conjunction with colleagues from the Public Health analyst team re-wrote the Gambling Statement of Principles, it is not proposed that this statutory review will incorporate any major changes.

The following changes around increasing awareness of mental health issues and concerns about the use of privacy booths have been identified:

·         Operators should make information publicly available via leaflets, etc about organisations that can provide advice and support, both in relation to gambling itself, to debt and mental wellbeing, e.g. GamCare, Gamblers Anonymous, Gordon House Association, National Debtline, local Citizens Advice Bureaux, Samaritans and independent advice agencies (para.12.7 of revised policy).

·         Mental health is of particular concern locally.  When compared with our benchmark partners Brighton and Hove has the highest percentage of patients with long term mental health problems, and also the highest percentage of patients with depression and anxiety (para.13.13 of revised policy).

·         Facilities for gambling must only be offered in a manner which provides for appropriate supervision of those facilities by staff at all times.  The Licensing Authority has concerns that the use of gaming machines in privacy booths may prevent adequate supervision and protection of vulnerable persons and problem gamblers.  The Licensing Authority seeks to discourage the use of privacy screens (para.21.6 of revised policy).

The Council as a licensing authority would like to take this opportunity to exercise its duty to consult with you prior to determining and producing the revised statement.  Please find attached a link to the revised policy, with above paragraphs inserted, which sets out our approach to our functions, and how we will meet the objectives of the Gambling Act, of keeping crime out of gambling, ensuring it is fair and open, and protecting children and vulnerable people

BHCC invite your comments, any suggested amendments or improvements and your reasons for recommending any changes by no later than 17th September 2018.

This information can also be found on-line on the Council’s Portal  https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/gambling-policy-consultation.

 Please submit your response either on-line to ehl.safety@brighton-hove.gov.uk, or to the Environmental Health & Licensing team, 2nd Floor, Bartholomew House, Brighton BN1 1JE.

Privacy Notice (Consent)

The Council is the data controller for purposes of the EU General Data Protection Regulation and any UK legislation supplementary to this. The Council is registered as a data controller with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) under registration number Z5840053.

Brighton and Hove City Council are committed to protecting your personal information. As a data controller we have a responsibility to make sure you know why and how your personal information is being collected in accordance with relevant data protection law.

Why we are processing your data

·         We are collecting your data for the purpose of informing the Brighton & Hove Licensing Authority’s Gambling Policy (Statement of Principles).

·         We have a legal basis for collecting this data and any special category data under Explicit Consent and you will be required to provided consent below.

·         Personal data from individuals responding as residents or visitors will not be shared with any other third party without you being informed.

·         Data from individuals responding as a representative of an organisation or as a stakeholder may be shared with the Licensing Committee members and will be available as a public document on the internet.

·         We will hold your data until Brighton & Hove Licensing Authority’s Gambling Policy (Statement of Principles) has been agreed by the council’s Licensing Committee.

Your information rights

·         You have rights around the information we hold on you, further information on your rights are available on our website.

Further information

·         If you would like to discuss this further please contact our Information Governance Team on 01273 295959 or data.protection@brighton-hove.gov.uk

·         BHCC’s Data Protection Officer may be contacted on gdpr@brighton-hove.gov.uk