Liberal Democrat Shadow Cabinet Member for Housing, Transport and Planning Councillor Dave Murphy is proposing a motion to the next meeting of full Council (Wednesday 8 November) proposing Oldham Council establish a voluntary scheme asking local retailers not to sell acid and other corrosive substances to under-age customers to help reduce the likelihood of attacks.

Councillor Murphy is very concerned about the increase in such attacks elsewhere in the UK, especially in London, and does not want to see these horrendous attacks in Oldham:

“Tragically the evidence suggests that attacks are on the up, with victims often being horribly disfigured and traumatised for life as a result. The Liberal Democrats support government proposals to introduce new legislation to create new offences for carrying acid or corrosive substances in a public place and in situations where retailers make sales of these substances to under-age customers. However, this will take time and in the meanwhile we would like to see the Council taking action.”

He is backed by his Liberal Democrat colleague, Councillor Garth Harkness:

“In our motion, we are calling for the Council to establish a voluntary scheme in which local retailers agree not to sell acid and corrosive substances to young people. The National Police Chiefs’ Council identified in a survey that over one fifth of all attacks were carried out by offenders aged 18 or younger. This is one practical measure in advance of the legislation that the Liberal Democrats are proposing that could make a real difference in our Borough.” 

 The motion reads – Combatting Acid Attacks

 This Council notes, with great sadness, that:

• There is growing evidence that the use of acid and other corrosive substances as a weapon in violent attacks is increasing.
• Victims of these crimes are often left with life changing injuries as well as long-term psychological and emotional damage,

Data collected by the National Police Chiefs’ Council covering a six month period between November 2016 and April 2017 identified 408 attacks involving corrosive substances across 39 police forces. 21% of offenders were found to be 18 years or under.

Council welcomes:

• The recognition by the British Government that the law is currently unsatisfactory as the products are legal for anyone to purchase, but shops are required to report suspicious sales.
• The recent Home Office consultation on proposals to enact new legislation in which retailers will be committing a criminal offence if they sell products containing harmful corrosive substances in shops or on-line to persons under 18 and where a new offence will be created of possessing a corrosive substance in a public place.

Proposals by other Councils to roll out voluntary schemes urging shopkeepers not to support sales of corrosive products which contain acid or ammonia to under 21 year olds in advance of future legislation.

This Council resolves to:

• Ask the Overview and Scrutiny Board, with the Trading Standards team and retailers’ associations, to examine the merits and practicalities of introducing such a voluntary scheme in this borough in advance of new legislation, and to report back their findings to full Council.
• Ask the Chief Executive to write to the Borough’s three Members of Parliament and the Mayor of Greater Manchester to request they make representations to Government ministers supporting the urgent introduction of new legislation to regulate the sale of these substances and to outlaw under-age sales.

Proposed by Councillor Dave Murphy, Seconded by Councillor Garth Harkness