Meeting documents

For Members to consider the attached report.

Contact Officer: Simon Gallacher 01296 585083

The Committee received a report which outlined the proposed Gambling Policy 2019-2022. Section 349 of the Gambling Act 2005 required all licensing authorities to prepare and publish a statement of principles that they propose to apply in exercising their functions under the Act. The statement of principles or licensing policy must be reviewed and republished every three years. The council’s policy was now due for revision and a new version must be published in January 2019.

The Licensing Committee had met on 2 July 2018 to discuss the new draft policy. Following their discussions, the main changes made related to the preparation and publication of a Local Area Profile and expansion of the sections referring to risk assessments and licensing objectives.  There had also been some minor changes to other sections within the policy.

There had been a legal requirement for the new draft policy to be distributed for consultation which had taken place between 9 July and 31 August 2018. The policy had been available on AVDC’s website and a wide range of potential stakeholders were consulted which included:-

·         Responsible authorities under the Gambling Act

·         Local organisations working with those potentially vulnerable to gambling related harm

·         Premises licence and permit holders within the District

·         Organisations representative of gambling businesses 

·         District and Borough Councillors

·         Parish Councils and neighbouring Districts

AVDC received one response throughout the consultation from GamCare. The Licensing Committee met again on 10 September 2018 to consider the policy further and made no further changes. The Chairman of the Licensing Committee was present for this item and answered any questions raised by Members regarding the Gambling Policy.

A separate document alongside the policy would also be published entitled Local Area Profiles. This was a statistical document with its contents governed by the policy. The Licensing Committee had agreed that this document should be fluid in nature to allow timely changes to be made without the requirement for full consultation and Council approval.

The Committee asked officers for further information and were advised that:-

      i.        There was an understandable concern that AVDC could not impose limits on the number of gambling establishments in an area particularly if it was an area of residential growth.

     ii.        Applications could be challenged through the proposed Local Area Profile as this provided context as to the risk of particular locations. The applicant would have a legal obligation to show the methods to mitigate the risk for the area.

    iii.        The number of gambling establishments had appeared to plateau and it was expected that the introduction of legislation that capped the stakes on fixed odd betting terminals might reduce the number of establishments on the high street.

   iv.        The Chairman of Licensing Committee had written to the Government regarding concerns that the council was powerless to control the proliferation and clustering of betting shops. The letter asked Government to consider giving local authorities the ability to introduce Cumulative Impact Policies in relation to gambling establishments.

    v.        Online gambling was a growing concern as its concerns may not be seen in town centres but its impacts were felt socially.

   vi.        Restrictions of gambling establishments in the VALP and neighbourhood plans would be communicated to Members separately.

RESOLVED –

That the comments of the Committee on the Licensing Policy be noted.