Licensing

Medway Council's Licensing Team grants permits for collections which are conducted:

• in public houses;
• door to door;
• on the street;

All of these require a permit from the council, which is free of charge.

Street collections

The collection of money or sale of articles for the benefit of charitable purposes in any street or public place (public houses require a House to House Collection Licence) must have a permit from the council.

Street collection permits are granted in accordance with the Police, Factories, etc. (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1916 (www.opsi.gov.uk/RevisedStatutes/Acts/ukpga/1916/cukpga_19160031_en_1).

Only one street collection permit will be issued for each town on any given day. Saturdays are particularly popular and are booked quickly. Applications must be made at least 28 days before the required collection date.

The permit conveys no right to station a vehicle or other obstruction, for which specific permission should be sought from the Director of Regeneration and Development.

House-to-house collections

It is an offence to promote or make a house-to-house collection for a charitable purpose without the promoter obtaining a licence from the local authority in the area that the collection is to take place.

House-to-house collections are licensed in accordance with the House to House Collections Act 1939 (www.opsi.gov.uk/RevisedStatutes/Acts/ukpga/1939/cukpga_19390044_en_1) and the House to House Collections Regulations 1947.

A House to House Collection Licence is required for door-to-door collections, as well as collections in public houses (this includes rose-sellers). Charities collecting clothes, bric-a-brac etc. also require a licence.

Applications must be made at least 28 days before the collection date.

Further information about charity collections is available from the Charity Commission (www.charity-commission.gov.uk).

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