London Local Authorities Act 2007

57 Seizure of perishable items

After section 27 (unlicensed street trading) of the Act of 1999, the following section is inserted—

“27A “Seizure of perishable items

(1) No article or thing which is of a perishable nature (in this section referred to as a “perishable item”) shall be seized under the provisions of subsection (5) of section 27 (unlicensed street trading) of this Act unless the council gives a certificate under subsection (2) below to the person from whom the article or thing is seized.

(2) Where a perishable item is seized under the said subsection (5), the person from whom it is seized must be given a certificate—

(a) stating the effect of subsection (5) below and subsection (10) of the said section 27;

(b) giving the address from which the article or thing may be collected;

(c) informing the recipient that if he is not the owner of the article or thing, then he should give the owner the information referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) above.

(3) If the person from whom a perishable item was so seized fails to collect it within 48 hours of the seizure the council may dispose of it.

(4) When any perishable item is disposed of by the council under subsection (3) above, the council shall have a duty to secure the best possible price which can reasonably be obtained for it.

(5) Paragraphs (a) to (d) of subsection (8), and subsections (9) and (10) of the said section 27 shall apply to a perishable item seized under that section only in cases where the article or thing concerned has not been disposed of by the council at the conclusion of the proceedings in respect of the alleged offence in relation to which the article or thing was seized.

(6) Paragraphs (f) and (g) of subsection (8) of the said section 27 shall apply to a perishable item seized under that section only in cases where the article or thing concerned has not been disposed of by the council at the expiration of the period mentioned in the said paragraph (f); otherwise subsections (8) to (11) below shall apply.

(7) Subsection (11) of the said section 27 shall apply with the omission of paragraph (c) in respect of a perishable item seized under that section in cases where the article or thing concerned has not been disposed of by the council by the time the circumstances mentioned in paragraph (a)(ii)(A) or (B) arise otherwise subsections (8) to (11) below shall apply.

(8) Subsection (11) below shall have effect where the council have disposed of a perishable article or thing under subsection (4) above and any of the following conditions apply.

(9) The first condition is that no proceedings in respect of the alleged offence in relation to which the article or thing was seized are instituted before the expiration of a period of 28 days beginning with the date of seizure of the article or thing, or any such proceedings instituted within that period are discontinued.

(10) The second condition is that—

(a) not less than six months have passed since the date of the seizure and no information has been laid against any person for an offence under the said section 27 in respect of the acts or circumstances which occasioned the seizure; or

(b) proceedings for such an offence have been brought and either the person charged has been acquitted (whether or not on appeal) and the time for appealing against or challenging the acquittal (where applicable) has expired without an appeal or challenge being brought, or the proceedings (including any appeal) have been withdrawn by, or have failed for want of prosecution by, the person by whom the original proceedings were brought.

(11) When this subsection has effect a person who has or at the time of seizure had a legal interest in the item seized may recover compensation from the borough council or (where it is seized by a constable) the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis by civil action in the County Court in respect of any loss suffered by him as a result of the seizure and any such compensation shall not be included in the computation for calculating charges under section 22 (fees and charges) of this Act.”.