An All Party Parliamentary Group for charity retail is due to launch next month, chaired by Liberal Democrat MP Ed Davey.
At the Charity Retail Association’s annual general meeting in London yesterday, Robin Osterley announced the group’s launch, saying it would be the first of its kind and “a fantastic vehicle” for the CRA to lobby within parliament. The CRA will provide the secretariat for the group.
The group is due to hold its first meeting on 6 December, where the CRA will present its recent Shopping for Good report.
Osterley said Davey, who was energy secretary in the coalition government from 2012 to 2015, was particularly interested in the environmental aspects of charity retail.
Other members of the cross-parliamentary group, which will not meet every month, are to be announced in due course.
Osterley said: “We have a number of MPs and peers who are already signed up to becoming members.
“It will be a fantastic vehicle for us to lobby within parliament and also a great reference group that we could use in the event of anything awful happening. I don’t see anything awful happening but should it do so, we will have that ability to have some automatic friends in parliament.”
Osterley also said that the group would be discussing the issue of local authorities introducing disposal costs for charities at recycling centres, which the CRA is currently researching through FOI requests with councils.
The CRA has previously said it believes the donated items charities deposit at recycling centres should be classified as household, not commercial, waste and therefore not charged.
Other campaigns
The CRA said it would soon be launching a campaign, backed by two government departments, to encourage members of the public to buy their secret Santa gifts from charity shops.
It also plans to run a campaign in spring next year, getting charity shops to style their local MP.
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