Holiday Caravan Sites (Wales) Bill: consultation
Response from the National Caravan Council (The NCC) to the Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee inquiry
23 May 2014
Introduction:
1.
The
NCC (National Caravan Council) is the UK trade body for the tourer,
motorhome, holiday caravan and residential park home industries.
Formed in 1939, the NCC represents a membership in excess of 550
companies engaged in the industry throughout the entire supply
chain; manufacturers, retailers, suppliers and service providers,
and operators of both holiday and residential parks.
2.
The
industry employs in excess of 90,000 people and services 1 million
caravanners and over 330,000 holiday caravan owners across the UK.
According to the Welsh Government Bedstock data, as at March
2013, in excess of 70 percent of tourism bedstock in Wales is
provided by camping/caravanning (touring and static caravan)
establishments; 399,124 tourist beds in 1,322 establishments.
3. According to a research study carried out by VisitWales on the holiday park industry in Wales in 2011, the economic impact of the holiday caravan and touring park industry in Wales has been calculated as a GVA contribution of £317m per annum, supporting 10,645 direct and indirect jobs in Wales and further employment sustained in other areas in the UK.
This response focuses on the six terms of reference outlined by the Committee:
General Principles and
the need for legislation to modernize the regulatory framework for
holiday caravan sites in Wales:
4.
The
NCC recognises and supports measures to modernise and streamline
the holiday caravan sector which are relevant, proportionate and
achievable. We have worked closely with Mr Millar and his team on
the development of this Bill since May 2013 and welcome recent
amendments, particularly in acknowledging our representations to
present the proposed reforms in this Bill in a sector-specific
‘stand-alone’ Bill.
5.
Whilst
there have been significant, pragmatic changes to the original Bill
since its introduction, many serious concerns remain. We
maintain it is essential that any regulation of the holiday caravan
park sector that may follow:
Ø does not attempt to apply to a vibrant and dynamic tourism business sector an inappropriate regulatory burden which has at its core a regime written specifically to address significant concerns in the residential mobile home sector
Ø addresses proven evidence of abuse in the sector
Ø allows the holiday parks industry to compete effectively and fairly
Ø does not create a competitive disadvantage for holiday caravan parks in Wales
6. The NCC recognises the need for modernisation in the licensing regime and the application of existing industry best practice through clear and unambiguous written agreements and standards. The latter reflects the NCC’s approach to raising standards and levels of customer satisfaction through its independently assessed NCC Approved Holiday Park Holiday Home Ownership Scheme, which has at its core a Code of Practice and clear, concise written agreements.
The parts of the Bill –
Licensing (Part 2)
7.
It is
recognized that the licensing regime in place for the sector would
benefit from some modernization and streamlining to align it with a
modern, dynamic tourism proposition. However, some of the
measures proposed would, in the absence of an evidence base to
justify the stringency of the measures, simply add a level of cost
and bureaucracy and uncertainty to those investing and operating in
the sector. In particular, the proposed level of fixed
penalty notice (£500 ) for a breach – however minor
– of site licence conditions is grossly disproportionate and
has the potential to damage the important relationship between
operators and local authorities.
Fit and Proper Person Test
8. The NCC strives to raise standards of professionalism and customer care within the industry, and many business operating in the holiday park sector are already subjected to a number of ‘tests’ imposed by regulatory bodies (FSA) and others to enable them to conduct business. Whilst there is no evidence of the abuses recorded in the residential sector to justify the imposition of a ‘fit and proper person’ test regime in the holiday sector, recognition of existing mandatory ‘tests’ together with the NCC Approved Holiday Park Holiday Home Ownership Regime (designed to set standards amongst holiday caravan parks) should be accepted by local authorities without the need for additional testing. This would remove the extra punitive cost to businesses (fees and management time which would far exceed the suggested cost of £100 per park) of applying for approval and re-testing of multiple park managers (particularly in the larger park group businesses), as they are deployed across parks, and as they move and progress within the individual business and group structures.
Residence Test (Part 3)
9.
The
proposed Residence Test reflects existing best practice in
requesting, checking and recording holiday home owners’
permanent home addresses. However, as drafted, it also
presents a number of additional issues which in the round would not
achieve the stated objective of ‘addressing unlawful
occupation of caravans’. Insisting that it is performed
every year adds unnecessary cost and administrative burden to park
operations; requiring parks to report changes in use immediately
without the flexibility to take account of extenuating
circumstances (divorce or family bereavement) and to act
sensitively and effectively through prescribed internal processes
risks damaging the relationship between owner occupiers and the
business.
10.
Crucially the application of the Test to essential
specialist and creative team-staff members employed on short-term
fixed contracts will impact significantly on a park’s ability
to compete with other leisure/tourism businesses who already offer
accommodation without such restrictions (hotels, cruise ships), and
place holiday parks at a serious commercial disadvantage.
11.
Such
staff teams (comprised of up to 150 seasonal employees at any point
in the year) are recruited nationally, and to retain their services
and to accommodate the necessary shift patterns required by the
business, accommodation on park is key. Employment
contracts and HR files invariably carry personal details,
including home addresses, so carrying out additional test appears
duplicitous and invasive. Furthermore, to expect such staff to find
accommodation locally, even if were available, would impose a drain
on accommodation resources available to the local community which
is both unnecessary and unacceptable.
12. Frequent and invasive testing would also challenge the relationship between holiday park business and their existing holiday home owners and may, in turn, prompt prospective holiday caravan owners to reconsider their options for investing their new-found leisure pound in tourism businesses outside the holiday caravan sector in Wales.
Holiday Caravan
Agreements (Part 4)
13. The introduction of written agreements within the sector reflects industry best practice and is a core element of the NCC ‘Approved Holiday Park’ code regime.
14. Whilst we recognize that potential purchasers should have sufficient time to consider their potential investment and the rights and responsibilities of holiday home ownership, the requirement in section 55(3) which denies both the potential ‘occupier’ and the park owner the opportunity to shorten the period of time before the sale can take place (a mandatory 28 days) will have a devastating impact on holiday parks and their ability to compete effectively.
15. The industry model purchase agreement already provides for a minimum cooling off period (which already exceeds regulatory requirements and is often extended by park operators), and whilst some customers may require a longer period to finalise their decision, many want to complete the purchase at the earliest opportunity having made an informed decision with the benefit of all the paperwork in advance. Imposing a mandatory 28 day period without the opportunity to shorten the period with the agreement of both parties removes the consumer’s freedom of choice, and will serve to frustrate and risk the failure of the transaction completely.
16. We do not believe it is Mr Millar’s intention to restrict consumer choice, or holiday parks to compete effectively in the tourism/leisure accommodation market. Such a draconian measure will cause irreparable damage to the sector, fails to recognize the distinction between the holiday park sector and the residential sector and imposes a more onerous and prescriptive requirement that the relevant provision enacted in the Mobile Home Act (Wales) 2013.
17.
Park
businesses remain deeply concerned about the requirement for
consultation under Section 56(3) (e) on all
‘significant’ operational matters, where
‘significant’ remains undefined.
In addition to adding further costs and administrative burden to
the operation, lengthy and complex consultations would impact on
their ability to evolve and develop their businesses at the speed
required by modern business.
Protection from
harassment (part 5)
18. Appropriate measures to afford protections against harassment for ‘occupiers’ are applauded and supported. They should be clear, unequivocal and proportionate, and not duplicate or contradict existing provisions in earlier legislation (Protection from Eviction Act 1977).
Potential barriers to the
implementation of the Bill
19. Effective and efficient implementation of the provisions will be determined by the level and availability of resource at local authorities who will be required to both implement and enforce a challenging and comprehensive licensing regime within a relatively short period of time alongside other equally challenging legislative changes in both the mobile home sector and the housing sector.
Any unintended
consequences arising from the Bill
20.
If the
proposals were to be enacted caravan holiday and touring parks in
Wales would be the first in the UK to trade under such a complex
regulatory regime. As drafted there is considerable potential for
unintended consequences in applying the basis of an as yet untested
legislative regime to a tourism sector which is key to the tourism
economy in Wales. In addition we believe the following could
follow:
21. Competitive disadvantage
Regulation and added
bureaucracy could increase the price of holiday caravan ownership
in Wales making it less competitive, risk reducing valuable local
employment, and effectively signpost consumers towards the rest of
the UK and beyond to seek alternative holiday home options. These
burdens of regulation, punitive constraints (including restrictions
on consumer choice), and escalating costs of implementation are
specific to businesses in this sector; they are not extended to
other tourism/leisure businesses across Wales (including hotels,
holiday villages, B&Bs etc) which all offer similar
accommodation provisions. This places holiday parks at a
significant and real competitive disadvantage.
22. Potential risk of Homelessness
We have concerns that in
the absence of evidence to support the proposals in relation to
residential mis-use of holiday caravans, the proposed enforcement
regime may raise issues with regard to homelessness/rehousing for
the consumers it targets. The potential for inadvertent mis-selling
of holiday caravans through either poor staff training or consumer
stealth, and which in turn may contribute to residential mis-use,
appears to have been overlooked. The remedies for victims in
such instances are unclear.
23. Anti-business, anti-consumer and unfair competition
The measures highlighted
above are not only competitively unfair, and place holiday park
businesses at a competitive disadvantage, but are also
anti-business and anti-consumer. We have stressed the unintended
consequence of potentially restricting a consumer’s choice to
secure an agreement to purchase when they are ready. Further,
the creation of a prescriptive and expensive regime applied
exclusively on privately owned and operated holiday parks to the
exclusion of parks owned and operated by local authorities, or
those listed as exempted (exempted organisations) also creates the
potential for an uneven playing field with similar tourism
businesses such as B&Bs, small hotels and other self-catering
establishments.
Financial implications of the Bill (Part 2 of Explanatory Memorandum)
24.
Residence Test
Costs related to
the administration of an annual residence test for a holiday park
operator will be significant. Contrary to the suggested
£75 per park per year after year two of implementation,
figures closer to in excess of £17,500 per year for a medium
sized operator and up to £150,000 for the cost to the
industry across Wales has been advised.
25.
Fit
and Proper Person Test
Assuming the figures for an enhanced check based on the Scottish
model cited in the Explanatory Memorandum to be broadly
representative, the figure of around £100 per park, which is
adding to costs already incurred in meeting existing regulatory
requirements (FSA) are severely underestimated, duplicitous and
unnecessary.
Powers for Welsh
Ministers to made subordinate legislation
26. Such powers should be retained to ensure that an appropriate level of flexibility and redress to remedy or reform unintended consequences can be applied.
Summary
In summary we reiterate our
qualified support for proportionate measures that will help deliver
the key objectives outlines in this proposed legislation, but
stress that this can only be achieved by
ensuring:
Ø That the key drivers to address issues of residential misuse of holiday caravans are correctly researched, evidenced and properly costed
Ø Appropriate levels of resource are made available to local authorities to enable them to work positively with the sector to deliver an effective and efficient licensing regime
Ø There is recognition of existing mandatory tests including the NCC independently assessed and monitored Approved Holiday Park Holiday Home Ownership Scheme to determine whether an owner/licence holder is fit and proper to hold a licence; and that there is a greater understanding that if required such a test should be workable without undue burden on park operators
Ø There is a re-evaluation of the appropriate legislative vehicle to help secure these measures and meet stated objectives, and which does not draw on a regime with protections designed purely for housing vulnerable elderly residents rather than a vibrant, dynamic tourism business sector.