The Licensing and Regulatory Committee of Barking and Dagenham Council met on Wednesday 8 July 2026 to discuss and provide comment on the draft revised Statement of Gambling Licensing Policy for 2026-2029. The committee noted the arrangements for public consultation and the timetable for the policy's determination.

Draft Revised Statement of Gambling Licensing Policy 2026-2029

The main item of discussion was the draft revised Statement of Gambling Licensing Policy for the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham for the period 2026-2029. Nick Howard, Environmental Health Service Manager, introduced the report, explaining that the Council is legally required to publish such a policy every three years. The updated policy aims to reflect significant national reforms, including a greater focus on public health, harm prevention, and partnership working, aligning with the Government's Gambling White Paper on High-Stake Reform for the Digital Age¹.

Councillor Julia Williams, Chair of the Pensions Committee and Labour Group Secretary, raised questions regarding the public health data informing the policy and requested a summary of key changes in the local area profile, specifically concerning areas flagged as higher risk. Mr. Howard explained that the policy's public health approach is at an early stage of development, with data primarily found in Appendix D of the report. He noted that while public health is not a direct licensing objective, it is linked to the protection of vulnerable individuals and families. He also clarified that the local area profile has been made more concise and targeted, focusing on the prevalence of gambling premises, deprivation indices, and crime prevalence.

Councillors discussed how public health considerations would be integrated into licensing decisions, with officers explaining that the link is primarily through the vulnerability of children and adults, and the potential for secondary impacts on families. The committee also explored how changes in gambling premises clustering would be reviewed, with officers confirming that the policy could be updated before the three-year cycle if significant changes occurred.

The discussion also covered how the council would measure the effectiveness of the new policy. Officers indicated that this would be assessed through compliance checks, enforcement activities, and the scrutiny of new applications, as well as by monitoring non-compliance and the appropriateness of decision-making processes.

Councillor Manjeet Nandra, Reform UK Group Whip, inquired about the differences between the new policy and the previous one and the local impact. Mr. Howard detailed several key changes, including a stronger public health approach, expanded safeguarding focus, updated local area profiles, and a greater emphasis on partnership working, age verification, and recognition of cumulative impacts.

Concerns were raised about the current reactive nature of compliance checks, with officers explaining that while a proactive inspection plan is a future goal, current operations are largely reactive, based on complaints or intelligence. The team is expanding to six members to facilitate more targeted checks.

The policy was confirmed to cover only physical gambling premises and not online gambling. Evidence of local gambling harm was presented, including an estimated fiscal cost of £2,194,228 to public services in Barking and Dagenham in 2024, impacting health, welfare, and crime.

The committee also discussed the consultation process, which is set to run for six weeks from 13 July to 24 August 2026. Responses will be collated and reported back to the committee in late August or early September, with a view to the policy being considered by Cabinet and Assembly within the same month.

Finally, the committee discussed the process for objections to applications, confirming there is no minimum threshold for objections, and that all relevant objections would be considered. The testing of staff knowledge regarding problem gambling indicators and self-exclusion procedures was also detailed, with officers emphasizing the use of challenging questions during compliance checks. The policy's approach to small-scale gambling, such as bingo sessions in community settings, was clarified, distinguishing between regulated activities and exemptions. The possibility of consulting with the Barking and Dagenham Youth Forum was also raised and agreed upon.

The committee resolved to consider the draft revised Statement of Gambling Licensing Policy for 2026-2029 and note the arrangements for public consultation and the timetable for its determination.