§ Lord Mason of Barnsleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
To what extent the public are covered by car boot traders' public liability insurance if there is an 16WA accident on the site of a car boot sale; whether the public has any redress from an illness occurring from car boot traders' sales; and what determines a car boot trader being officially registered so that his sales can be recorded for tax purposes.
§ The Minister of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Strathclyde)Traders at car boot sales are not required to be registered (except in Scotland and certain local authority areas) or to take out public liability insurance. They are liable to register for VAT subject to the usual thresholds. A trader at a car boot sale would be liable according to normal provisions of the civil law for any damage or injury caused by goods which he sells.