Cardiff Council wants more powers to clamp down on sale of illegal tobacco and vapes

The council is calling for support from both the Welsh and UK governments

Cardiff Council will vote on whether to ramp up its enforcement against “rogue retailers” on the city’s high streets. On September 24 councillor Owen Jones, who represents Adamsdown ward, will present a motion to the council called “Tackling Illegal Activity on Cardiff’s High Streets and Strengthening Enforcement Against Rogue Retailers”.

The motion calls on the council to strengthen local enforcement and the use of its existing powers by exploring ways to introduce a “more proactive and intelligence-led enforcement approach, reducing reliance on lengthy reactive processes”.

This is in addition to working “closely” with South Wales Police, HMRC and other groups to deliver a “coordinated multi-agency response aimed at organised criminal networks rather than solely individual premises”. Never miss a Cardiff story by signing up to our daily newsletter here.

According to the motion this comes after recent enforcement action against multiple premises selling “illegal tobacco and vaping products” following Shared Regulatory Services (SRS) investigations.

SRS provides environmental health, trading standards, and licensing enforcement across Cardiff, Bridgend, and the Vale of Glamorgan.

The motion recognises that “Cardiff’s high streets should support legitimate enterprise and investment, not provide opportunities for organised criminal networks to establish and expand their activities”.

It notes many commercial buildings in Cardiff experience “long-term vacancy, decline, or an unmanaged proliferation of single-use outlets, including vape shops, barber shops, and other repetitive low-footfall businesses” as a result of outdated planning frameworks and that local residents feel frustrated over their lack of influence over their high street.

The motion also calls on the Welsh Government to “provide additional resources to local authorities to strengthen Trading Standards and wider enforcement capacity, enabling more rapid intervention against rogue operators” and to “review and enhance” local authorities’ powers to enable more effective action against businesses engaged in illegal activity.

This is in addition to amending Welsh planning regulations to require dedicated permissions for vape shops.

And it calls on the UK Government to “introduce stronger measures to disrupt illicit tobacco and vaping supply chains, including enhanced border enforcement and import controls”.

Both the proposer, councllor Jones, and the seconder, councillor Lexi Gauci, are members of Welsh Labour, the party currently in control of Cardiff Council.