FAIRTRADE

1. At its meeting on 23 February 2005, the County Council considered a motion from Councillor Mrs Buckley relating to Fairtrade, in the following terms:


"Hampshire County Council desires to be recognised as a Council that actively supports and promotes the concept of Fairtrade, ensuring that producers from all countries get a fair price for their goods and labour.

The County Council gives its support to the concept of Fairtrade and will seek national recognition as a Fairtrade County.

The County Council will seek to purchase products displaying the Fairtrade Mark which guarantees producers are fairly paid and work in reasonable conditions.

The County Council shall encourage the use of products that carry the Fairtrade Mark amongst local business, commercial and other organisations.

The County Council will endeavour to ensure that where refreshments are provided at meetings held in county facilities everybody attending is offered a choice of Fairtrade products (such as tea, coffee, fruit and fruit juice or biscuits).

The County Council affirms that it will work with suppliers, contractors and consultants to raise awareness of ethical considerations and social responsibility in county purchasing decisions.

The County Council will promote awareness of Fairtrade on a regular basis by making publicity and educational material available to local people concerning the opportunities that Fairtrade provides to foster sustainable development.

The County Council resolves that a Cabinet Member shall be assigned responsibility to ensure a continued and widening commitment to a Fairtrade Hampshire and to provide periodic reports on the County's progress towards meeting this objective."

That motion was referred to the Policy and Resources Scrutiny and Select Committee for detailed consideration.


2. The Committee has now considered a full report from the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services on the Fairtrade movement, which can be defined as a trading partnership based on dialogue, transparency and respect, which seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalised producers and workers, especially in the southern hemisphere. Fairtrade organisations are actively engaged in supporting producers, raising awareness and in campaigning for changes in the rules and practices in conventional international trade. The Committee, in their discussion, concentrated on the extent to which the County Council could and should offer support and commitment to the Fairtrade movement and aspire to designated Fairtrade status for the county. The Committee's conclusion was that the County Council should offer support where reasonably practicable and where there was no conflict with other County Council policies, for instance supporting local producers through Hampshire Fare. The general view was that, given the overall scale of the County Council's procurement operations, a limited commitment could be made at modest cost towards the promotion of Fairtrade products, in particular tea and coffee served at meetings.


3. The Committee considered the possibility of providing Fairtrade beverages throughout the County Council's operations, but cannot recommend that approach since it would involve additional costs exceeding £65,000. However, if the commitment to Fairtrade beverages were restricted to refreshments served to Members and those provided at meetings held within departments at the Castle, the cost would be less than £10,000 and the Committee considers this is a commitment which the County Council could afford and should make.


4. If the County Council supports this approach, a modest additional cost would result in commitment to supporting the wider principles of Fairtrade and encouraging their development and application by other local groups and organisations in the wider community. The recommendation now advocated and set out below would support Aim 2 of the Corporate Strategy, stewardship of the environment, by contributing to sustainability and greater equity in world trade.

RECOMMENDATION:

That the following be substituted for the motion on Fairtrade moved by Councillor Mrs. A. Buckley on 23 February 2005.

That the County Council supports the development of Fairtrade where applicable and agrees that the implementation of the principles be reviewed and monitored over time so that progress can be made consistent with the representations that the County Council can influence.

5nR45605