Issue - meetings

This report seeks Council approval to the revised Council Statement of Gambling Policy for a period of up to three years.

Discussion:

This report provided details of the revised Council Statement of Gambling Policy, which had been developed in accordance with the provisions of the Gambling Act 2005.

The report had been considered by the Licensing and Safety Committee, Business Support Overview and Scrutiny Committee and Cabinet, details of which were set out in the report.

A Diversity Impact Assessment screening had been carried out on the proposals which indicated it was not necessary to proceed to a full assessment.

Councillor O’Brien, Portfolio Holder for Community Safety and Customer Contract, supported by Councillor Maple, proposed the recommendation set out in the report.

Decision:

The Council approved the Statement of Gambling Policy (Gambling Act 2005), as set out in Appendix A to the report.

Background:

This report provided details of the Statement of Gambling Policy (Gambling Act 2005). This Policy set out the principles which the Local Authority applied in exercising its licensing functions under the Gambling Act 2005. The licensing objectives were:

• Preventing gambling from being a source of crime or disorder, being associated with crime or disorder or being used to support crime;
• Ensuring that gambling was conducted in a fair and open way;
• Protecting children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling.

The report set out a summary of the proposed amendments to the Policy and the views of the Licensing and Safety Committee and Business Support Overview and Scrutiny Committee, which had considered the report on 21 November 2012 and 6 December 2012 respectively.

In relation to the comments made at the Business Support Overview and Scrutiny Committee, the Portfolio Holder for Community Safety and Customer Contact advised that he would be meeting with the Gambling Commission in the New Year and would also engage other political parties and Medway’s three Members of Parliament as to the proliferation of Fixed Odds Betting Terminals.

A Diversity Impact Assessment (DIA) screening form had been undertaken on the draft Policy which indicated it was not necessary to proceed to a full assessment.

Reasons:

The proposed Gambling Policy sets out how the Council will regulate licensable activities as required by the Gambling Act 2005.