Charity shops move criticised

Traders in Thirsk and Northallerton, who have already voiced fears about the number of charity shops emerging in their towns, are furious about European Commission plans to exempt charity shops from supplying information to trading standards officers.

The European Parliament's consumer affairs committee supported charity shops which said they could not give information about the origin of second-hand goods, and so could not comply with plans aiming to make it easier to recall dangerous products.

The move was criticised by Don Moore, chairman of Thirsk Chamber of Trade, who has previously hit out at the business rate reductions given to charity shops.

The chamber is taking its case to the Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, and Mr Moore said: "With a lot of the things that go in charity shops, you don't know where they have come from and because the people in there are volunteers, they are not qualified to assess it."

He added: "I don't know if this is ever going to be resolved. Nobody is anti-charity, but we can't have charity shops with rate reductions competing on the same level as people with normal overheads. It's just not fair."

However, the move was supported by Yorkshire Euro MP Diana Wallis, who claimed that common sense had prevailed after a disappointing vote in her Legal Affairs committee had previously gone against the proposal.

She said: "Everyone wants to protect consumers and the general sense of the European Commission's plan is widely supported.

"But charity shops are a special case. They are unique to Britain and Ireland, and I'm pleased that MEPs from across Europe have recognised this and rallied to ensure that their future is secure."

The European Commission has indicated that it will support measures to ensure that charity shops are exempt from the product information provisions of the new law.

But the proposal still has hurdles to cross, with the European Parliament in Strasbourg due to vote on it in early November