The Licensing Committee met to review the Gambling Act 2005 Statement of Principles and agreed to a public consultation on the draft, with a plan to submit it to the Full Council for approval, provided there is no significant feedback from the consultation and the Chairman of the Licensing Committee agrees.

Gambling Policy Review

The Group Manager Public Protection presented a report to the committee regarding the review of the Gambling Act 2005 Statement of Principles.

The Gambling Act 2005 requires the council to prepare, consult on, and adopt a statement of the principles that they propose to apply when exercising their functions under the Act. The Statement of Principles must be reviewed and published every three years, with the next revision due by January 2025.

The Group Manager Public Protection explained that the Senior Licensing Officer had reviewed and approved the policy, with a few minor amendments outlined in the report. She proposed a four-week public consultation, after which, if there was no significant feedback, the draft Statement of Principles would be submitted directly to Full Council for approval, subject to agreement by Councillor Chris Mountain, Chair of the Licensing Committee.

During the discussion, members of the committee raised the following points:

• Premises would need to be suitable for licensable activities such as bingo.
• The policy content aligned with legislation, limiting the scope for changes such as restricting the number of gambling establishments in the town centre.
• Different legislation applied to alcohol licensing for local village halls and community centres.
• The council's constitution contained details of delegated powers in respect of licensing, and it was suggested that the policy wording should provide further clarity on where powers were delegated.
• Concerns were raised about online gambling, over which the local authority had no powers. The Group Manager Public Protection noted that there were occasional opportunities for joint working with partners on issues such as gambling-related harm, which she supported. Councillor Stuart Evans stated that the council should take any opportunity to make a representation to the Government or the Gambling Commission, particularly on matters such as advertising.
• Members welcomed the addition of local risk assessments within the policy.

Councillor Paul Gleeson proposed the recommendations, and Councillor Stephen Woodliffe seconded them.

The committee agreed to:

1. Consult on the draft Statement of Principles as required under the provisions of the Gambling Act 2005.
2. Submit the draft Statement of Principles directly to Full Council for approval, subject to the agreement of Councillor Chris Mountain, Chair of the Licensing Committee, should there be no significant feedback from the consultation.

Other Matters

• Councillor John Baxter assisted Councillor Chris Mountain, Chair of the Licensing Committee, in the temporary role of Vice-Chairman for the duration of the meeting, due to apologies received from Councillors James Cantwell, Patsie Marson and Councillor Lina Savickiene.
• The minutes of the meeting held on 12 December 2023 were approved as a correct record and signed by Councillor Chris Mountain, Chair of the Licensing Committee.
• No public questions were received.