Methodology

The consultation on the draft Street Trading Policy was open from 10 February until 13 March 2021.

It was promoted online through the Council’s website and social media channels. Residents who have signed up for consultation reminders were also notified about the consultation. In addition, current street traders were emailed and notified of the consultation.

Participants in the consultation were invited to view the draft Street Trading Policy for Maidstone and asked for feedback.  An online survey is a self-selection methodology, with residents free to choose whether to participate or not. Due to the sample size results have not been weighted.

There was a total of 285 responses. Based on Maidstone’s population[1], aged 18 years and over, overall results are accurate to approximately ±5.8% at the 95% confidence level. This means that if the same survey was repeated 100 times, 90 times out of 100 the results would be between ±5.8% of the calculated response.  Therefore the ‘true’ response could be 5.8% above or below the figures reported (i.e. a 50% agreement rate could lie within the range of 44.2% to 55.8%).

Is the draft Street Trading Policy easy to understand?

Survey respondents were asked ‘To what extent do you agree or disagree that the Draft Street Trading Strategy is clear and easy to understand.’ A total of 283 people responded.

Overall, just over four in five respondents agreed (Strongly agree and Agree combined) with one in twenty disagreeing.

The chart below shows the proportion that answered positively (Strongly agree and Agree) across the different demographic groups.

Although the 18 to 34 years age group and the minority groups show the lowest and highest levels of agreements respectively, the results for these groups should be treated with caution due the small number of respondents with these characteristics.  Other points to note include:

·         Men were more likely than Female respondents to disagree that the Draft Street Trading Strategy is clear and easy to understand. 8.2% of male respondents answered this way compared to 2.6% of female respondents.

·         There were no respondents from the 75 years and over group that disagreed that the proposed policy was clear and easy to understand.

Respondents that had said they disagreed (Strongly disagree and Disagree responses) and those that responded neutrally (Neither agree nor disagree) were subsequently asked how they thought the Draft Street Trading Policy could be improved. A total of 27 comments were received. These comments have been grouped into themes, with some comments containing multiple themes. The table below shows a summary of the comments within each theme.

 Introduction of Basic Criminal checks

Survey respondents were asked if they supported the introduction of Basic Criminal Checks for Street Trader Consents. A total of 284 people responded.

There was strong support for the introduction of Basic criminal Checks for Street Trading Consents, with more than nine in ten respondents stating they supported this.

The chart below shows the proportion that answered ‘Yes’ across the different demographic groups.

Although the 18 to 34 years age group and the minority groups show the lowest levels of agreements, the results for these groups should be treated with caution due the small number of respondents with these characteristics who responded to the consultation.  Other points to note include:

·         Female respondents had a greater proportion that answered ‘Not sure’ when asked about the introduction of Basic Criminal Checks for Street Trading Consents compared to Male respondents. 4.3% of female respondents answered this way compared to 0.6% of Male respondents.  

·         There were no respondents from Minority groups that answered ‘No’ to this question.

Introduction of Right to Work checks

Survey respondents were asked if they supported the introduction of Right to Work checks for Street Trader Consents. A total of 283 people responded.

There was strong support for the introduction of Right to Work checks for Street Trading Consents, with more than nine in ten respondents stating they supported this.

The chart below shows the proportion that answered ‘Yes’ across the different demographic groups.

Although the 18 to 34 years age group and the minority groups show the lowest and highest levels of agreements respectively, the results for these groups should be treated with caution due the small number of respondents with these characteristics who responded.  Other points to note include:

·         There were no respondents from the age groups 18 to 34 or 35 to 44 that answered ‘No’, when asked if they support the introduction of Right to Work checks for Street Trading Consents.

·         The 55 to 64 years group had the greatest proportion that answered ‘No’ across all groups with 7.9% answering this way.

·         No respondents from Minority groups answered ‘No’ to this question about Right to Work for Street Trading consents. 100% of this group supported the introduction of Right to Work checks.

Is the policy proportionate?

Survey respondents were asked if they thought the proposed Street Trading Policy was proportionate. A total of 282 people responded.

Overall, just over four in five respondents said they felt that the proposed Street Trading Policy was proportionate.

Across the survey this question had the lowest proportion responding ‘Yes’ and greatest proportion answering that they are uncertain, with just over one in ten responding this way.

The chart below shows the proportion that said they felt that the proposed policy was proportionate across the different demographic groups.

The result for the 18 to 34 years age group and the minority groups should be treated with caution due the small number of respondents with these characteristics.  Other points to note include:

·         Male respondents had a greater proportion than Female respondents stating that they did not think the proposed Street Trading Policy was proportionate with 5.7% answering this way compared to 0% of Female respondents.

·         There were no respondents from the 35 to 44 years, 45 to 54 years and Minority groups that did not think the proposed policy was proportionate.

·         30% of respondents aged 35 to 44 years said they were ‘Not sure’ if the proposed Street Trading Policy was proportionate – this was significantly higher than the proportion responding the same for the 55 to 64 years group where 5.3% answered this way.

Comments

Survey respondents were asked if they thought anything was missing from the Draft Street Trading Policy and were provided with an open text box for comments. A total of 65 comments were received. 32 comments stated they did not think there was anything missing from the document.

The remaining 33 comments have been grouped into themes, with some comments containing multiple themes; the table below shows a summary of the comments within each theme.

At the end of the survey respondents were given the opportunity to provide additional comments about the proposed Street Trading Policy or clarify their answers. A total of 31 comments were received.

The comments were grouped into themes, with some comments containing multiple themes. The table below shows a summary of the comments within each theme.

Survey demographics