Agenda item

To approve the draft Statement of Principles under the Gambling Act 2005, as set out at Appendix B, for statutory consultation.

9.1            Attention was drawn to the report of the Licensing Operations and Development Team Leader, circulated at Pages No. 102-152, which asked Members to approve the draft Statement of Principles under the Gambling Act 2005, as attached at Appendix B to the report, for statutory consultation.

9.2            The Licensing Operations and Development Team Leader explained that, under the Gambling Act 2005, the Council as the Licensing Authority had a statutory obligation to review its Statement of Principles every three years.  Tewkesbury Borough Council’s current Statement of Principles had expired on 30 January 2022; however, due to the pandemic and staffing issues, no review had taken place in 2021.  A revised draft Statement of Principles was attached at Appendix B to the report.  Members were advised that there were no significant changes in terms of how the Gambling Act was administered in Tewkesbury Borough but it had been brought up to date in terms of legislation and best practice.  If Members were satisfied with the revisions, the draft Statement of Principles would be subject to a 12 week consultation and would be brought back to the Licensing Committee later in the year for Members to consider any comments.

9.3            A Member asked whether every Council had to have a Statement of Principles and what made Tewkesbury Borough Council’s different from other authorities.  In response, the Licensing Operations and Development Team Leader confirmed that every Council had its own Statement of Principles which varied depending on the gambling practices in the local area, for instance, Cheltenham Borough had a lot more gambling premises than Tewkesbury Borough and therefore would have different requirements.  The Member asked if there had been any deficiencies in the existing policy which had needed to be addressed through revision and the Licensing Operations and Development Team Leader advised that there had been nothing wrong with the document itself but it had been updated in terms of the guidance for local authorities.  She advised that further updates may be necessary when the Council was in a position to undertake more enforcement work and the Statement of Principles could be reviewed at any point.

9.4            A Member noted that the Statement of Principles included the regulation of gambling machines (fruit machines) but made no mention of having them in takeaway food premises so he questioned whether that was legal. The Licensing Operations and Development Team Leader confirmed that, since the Gambling Act 2005 had come into force on 1 September 2007, it was illegal to have gambling machines in takeaway food shops and other non-arcade premises such as cafes and restaurants, taxi offices etc. She undertook to include a sentence in the document to reflect that.

9.5            It was

RESOLVED           That the draft Statement of Principles under the Gambling Act 2005, as set out at Appendix B to the report, be APPROVED for statutory consultation, subject to an amendment to include a sentence to reflect that it was illegal to have gambling machines in takeaway food shops and other non-arcade premises such as cafes and restaurants, taxi offices etc.