Agenda item

Consideration was given to a report that was submitted for pre-decision scrutiny ahead of the Cabinet meeting scheduled for 23 March 2020 in respect of the Gambling Act 2005 Statement of Licensing Policy 2020-2023.

The Strategic Director of Regeneration and Environment and the Licensing Manager attended the meeting to present the report.

The report noted that Section 349 of the Gambling Act 2005 required a licensing authority to prepare and publish a statement of its licensing policy at least every three years, however the last review that had been scheduled for 2014 had not taken place due the Council’s focus at that time on taxi and private hire licensing. It was noted that Cabinet at its meeting on 10 June 2019 (Cabinet Minute No.16) had approved a two-stage consultation process that would inform a revised Statement of Licensing Policy

The revised policy included a number of proposed changes to the existing policy, and it was noted that the consultation process had shown that these changes were broadly supported. A summary of the consultation process was included in the officer’s report with a summary of responses attached as an appendix

The proposed changes to the Statement of Licensing Policy included:

·       The addition of the section identifying the links between different priorities and strategies of the Council, such as the role of Health and Wellbeing Strategy, Safer Rotherham Partnership, Planning, and Culture and Tourism had in the role of protecting the public from the harms of gambling.

·       The inclusion of a section to provide more detailed information to emphasise the individual licensing objectives and to detail how these could be promoted by applicants.

It was noted that it had initially been proposed that further work should be carried out to create a ‘Local Area Risk Profile’, that would set out the Council’s position, based on available data, as to which areas of the borough may have a higher sensitivity to problem gambling. The report stated that while a Local Area Risk Profile did not form part of the Licensing policy, but provided further information to potential applicants about the areas in where licences were already being considered, it was recommended that further work to develop this profile, in consultation with the Licensing Committee, Health and Wellbeing Board and colleagues in Public Health, continue. However in the absence of sufficient data to enable the production of a Local Area Risk Profile, additional information regarding the completion of risk assessments, including advice to applicants about how they should undertake a risk assessment of their local area and what types of evidence should be included in their application had been included in the revised policy.

The full revised Statement of Licensing Policy was attached as an appendix to the officer’s report.

The Chair asked for further information on the procedures that were in place, and assurance as to their robustness regarding the inspection of premises where fixed odds betting terminals were located. The Licensing Manager advised that an inspection of such premises was carried out annually in advance of an annual return being completed for the Gambling Commission. The Licensing Manager provided assurance as to the robustness of the procedures that supported this process.

Members asked if there was any information held regarding the impact of gambling on health and whether there was any evidence of suicides linked to problem gambling.

The Strategic Director of Regeneration and Environment stated that the data currently held on the links between gambling and the health and wellbeing was limited, but advised that it was envisaged that work would be carried out in the future to look how gambling impacted on the health and wellbeing of induviduals and would be used to inform the develelopment of future policies.

Resolved: -

1)    That Cabinet be advised that the recommendations be supported.

2)    That the Health Select Commission look into data from Public Health in respect of the impact of gambling on the wellbeing of individuals in the borough as part of its work programme for the 2020-21 municipal year.