Proposed change would mean no criminal record checks for Lammas Fair traders

By Catherine Moore
Published 17th Mar 2023, 23:01 BST
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Traders applying to take stalls at this summer’s Lammas Fair in Ballycastle may not be required to pass a criminal record check, after a proposal to amend the street trading application process.

SDLP Councillor Margaret-Anne McKillop proposed the recommendation at a meeting of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council’s environmental services committee.

Until now, the licencing team has required Access NI criminal record checks as part of the application process. According to a report the policy of requiring criminal access checks caused “considerable delays and difficulties when processing street trading applications for the Lammas Fair 2022”. “No applicants were recommended for refusal based on information contained in the criminal record checks for the Lammas Fair 2022,” it adds.

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“During Lammas Fair 2022, although criminal record checks were sought, the majority of traders who arrived on the day were unable to provide this document. An operational decision was taken to issue ‘on the day’ licences to said traders with a view to taking the matter back before Council for consideration.”

Traders applying to take stalls at this summer’s Lammas Fair in Ballycastle may not be required to pass a criminal record check, after a proposal to amend the street trading application process.Traders applying to take stalls at this summer’s Lammas Fair in Ballycastle may not be required to pass a criminal record check, after a proposal to amend the street trading application process.
Traders applying to take stalls at this summer’s Lammas Fair in Ballycastle may not be required to pass a criminal record check, after a proposal to amend the street trading application process.

DUP Alderman Alan McLean expressed concern at the plans to suspend the checks. “We don’t really have a choice unfortunately,” he said. “It’s a dangerous road because dear knows who we could have on the stalls and what other criminal records they had in previous years.

“The way the law’s laid out we’re really forced into the situation. So we have no other choice, but to me it’s not ideal.”

But UUP Councillor Darryl Wilson outlined potential positive impacts of the proposal. “Ultimately in any town centre or quite a lot of marketplaces, people are trading and they don’t have an Access NI check. I suppose in a perfect world you’d have Access NI checks for everything but hopefully this would free up some resource to pour back into the event itself,” he said.