Issue - meetings

At its meeting on 26 November 2015 the Licensing Committee considered the revision of the Statement of Principles under the Gambling Act and RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL that the Gambling Act 2005: Statement of Principles 2016-2019 be ADOPTED with effect from 31 January 2016, subject to any relevant representations being received within the consultation period being reviewed by the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Licensing Committee.

58.1           At its meeting on 26 November 2015 the Licensing Committee had considered the revision of the Statement of Principles under the Gambling Act and recommended to Council that the Gambling Act 2005: Statement of Principles 2016-2019 be adopted with effect from 31 January 2016.  

58.2           The report that had been considered by the Licensing Committee had been circulated with the Agenda for the current meeting at Pages No. 52-98.

58.3           The Chairman of the Licensing Committee indicated that the Committee had considered the Statement of Principles as required and had approved two changes which were outlined at Page No. 53 and included: the optional inclusion of a Local Area Profile which was essentially a way of describing a process of gathering and presenting information about a locality and any particular areas of concern within that, to explain and underpin the approach that the licensing authority would apply, as set out in the policy statement; and a requirement from 6 April 2016 for all operators to assess local risk in terms of understanding the local environment and reflecting that awareness in their procedures and policies so that they mitigated any local risks to the licensing objectives posed by the provision of gambling facilities at each of their premises, and to share their risk assessments with their local licensing authority when applying for a new premises licence; varying an existing premises licence; or, upon request by the licensing authority. The document had been subject to six weeks consultation during which no comments had been received.

58.4           Accordingly, it was

                  RESOLVED          That the Gambling Act 2005: Statement of Principles 2016-                                2019, as set out at Appendix B to the report, be ADOPTED                                     with effect from 31 January 2016.

To agree that a six week consultation be undertaken on the Gambling Act 2005: Statement of Principles 2016-2019 and that it be recommended to Council for adoption with effect from 31 January 2016, subject to any relevant representations being received within the consultation period being reviewed by the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Licensing Committee.

15.1           Attention was drawn to the report of the Licensing and Systems Officer, circulated at Pages No. 7-53, which asked Members to agree that a six week consultation be undertaken on the Gambling Act 2005: Statement of Principles 2016-2019 and to recommend to Council that it be adopted with effect from 31 January 2016, subject to any relevant representations being received within the consultation period being reviewed by the Chairman and Vice-Chairman.

15.2           The Licensing and Systems Officer explained that Section 349 of the Gambling Act 2005 required a Licensing Authority to prepare and publish a statement of its policy every three years.  One of the recommended changes was the inclusion of a Local Area Profile which provided more information about a locality and any particular concerns within that area.  In addition, from April 2016, operators would be required to assess local risk when they applied for a licence or to vary an existing licence.  When making their application they would need to consider the risk in terms of the three licensing objectives under the Gambling Act i.e. crime and disorder statistics in the area they were applying; the internal and external design of the premises and control measures in place; and any other factors.  Currently, operators generally carried out their own risk assessment but they did not include the whole of the local area.  It was noted that there would be no impact on existing licences.  The draft Gambling Act 2005: Statement of Principles 2016-19 included those changes and reflected the changes in the statutory guidance published at the end of September.  The whole policy had been reviewed, with non-relevant matters being removed and Plain English being used wherever possible, and was attached at Appendix 1 to the report.  Whilst guidance recommended a 12 week consultation, given the timescales available before the next Licensing Committee meeting, as well as the ability of the Licensing Team to engage with stakeholders and consultees at short notice, it was recommended that the consultation be held for six weeks.  Any responses received during the consultation period would be taken into account and considered by the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Licensing Committee before being taken to the Council for adoption.

15.3           A Member sought clarification as to the difference between slot machines A, B and C and was advised that very detailed guidance was published by the Gambling Commission; however, the main difference was maximum stake and price.  The Member indicated that restaurants often had machines and she questioned whether they were licensed.  In response, the Licensing and Systems Officer confirmed that, since the introduction of the Gambling Act 2005, only establishments which held a premises licence for the consumption of alcohol on the premises, and had applied for the entitlement, were permitted to have a gambling machine.  Another Member went on to query whether there was any restriction on the number of licences in a particular area and was advised that, whilst there was no fixed number of licences which could be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15