1. ROGER BUTTERFIELD

2.  Royal Assent – 28 February 2013  Possibly coming into force in September  Still waiting for Regulations

3.  The Act requires all persons carrying on business as a scrap metal dealer to be licensed  Two types of licence – one for a site and the other for mobile collectors  A site licence specifies one site  A mobile collector licence authorises the holder to operate as a mobile collector in the area of the issuing authority

4.  The authority has to satisfied that an applicant is a suitable person to carry on the business as a scrap metal dealer  In considering the application the authority has to consider whether the applicant has been convicted of a relevant offence  The Secretary of State has power to make regulations prescribing “relevant offences”

5.  A licence can be revoked on various grounds including where the authority is no longer satisfied that the licensee is a suitable person to carry on the business as a scrap metal dealer

6.  A licence will last for three years  A licence can be varied if there is a change of circumstances relating to details in the licence  A fee can be charged at cost recovery

7.  If an authority proposes to refuse an application or to revoke a licence the authority must notify the applicant of their proposed decision. The notice must set out how the applicant can make representations  There is an appeal to the Magistrates Court

8.  The authority can close unlicensed sites by making an application to the Magistrates Court  The licence must be displayed in a prominent place in an area accessible to the public  For mobile collectors it must be displayed in a manner which enables the licence to be easily read by a person outside the vehicle

9.  It will be an offence if the identity and the address of a person from whom scrap metal is received is not verified  The Secretary of State will make regulations prescribing what documents will be sufficient to prove identity e.g. Passport/driving licence

10.  Section 12 makes it an offence to buy scrap metal for cash  Payments can only be made by cheque or electronic transfer

11.  A record must be kept of the type of metal purchased; the time/date of the transaction; personal information on the seller; proof of an non-cash transaction  Similar records have to be kept of any disposal of scrap  Police and local authority officers have a right of entry to licensed premises