Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Licensing Policy Committee - Monday, 15th November, 2021 10.00 am

Venue: Council Chamber, Level 2, Town Hall Extension. View directions

Contact: Ian Hinton Smith 

Media

Items
No. Item

6.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 100 KB

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 16 August 2021.

Minutes:

Decision

 

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 16 August 2021.

7.

Revised Licensing Act Policy 2022 - 2025 pdf icon PDF 345 KB

The report of the Director of Planning, Building Control & Licensing is enclosed.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a revised Gambling Policy report.

 

The Principal Licensing Officer presented the report, stating that this was the forthcoming Gambling Policy which is published every three years and that this revision was in response to consultation.  The Committee were informed that Annex 3 contained these proposed changes from the responses. There was an anti-gambling stance taken within the responses which could not be considered, but the Principal Licensing Officer confirmed that the policy did take account of harm from gambling which was still in development. Changes in the policy, it was stated, were in line with the objectives and the protection of children. Trafalgar Leisure had given a response relating to gaming machines at bingo premises (Annex 2). The Principal Licensing Officer confirmed that there were still some minor amendments to typographical errors to be fixed and confirmed that enhanced DBS checks could not be applied for all roles within the gambling industry, therefore this would be reworded. In his final statement, the Principal Licensing Officer stated that the policy would come into effect in January 2022.

 

The Committee were invited to comment and ask questions.

 

In responding to a question from the Committee, the Principal Licensing Officer stated that the policy contained standard wording for countrywide use but that there would be a varied approach from local authorities and that the policy reflects Manchester City Council’s detailed approach and benefitted from additional work done in Manchester around gambling related harm, such as the work of the Greater Manchester Gambling Harm Reduction Board. The Principal Licensing Officer confirmed that project has been funded through the Gambling Commission's regulatory settlement scheme following a successful bid by MCC and colleagues in public health services. A report on the progress of the programme will be brought to this Committee in future.

 

In responding to a further question from the Committee, the Legal Advisor to the Committee stated that she had concerns over the suggested re-wording from “expectations” to “a requirement” regarding gambling companies social responsibilities, stating that no mandatory conditions could be added to the policy.

 

The Principal Licensing Officer added that there was a Gambling Code of Practice for use within the industry and confirmed this would be circulated to the Committee.

 

The Principal Licensing Officer then confirmed that the DBS issue was a legal issue and not linked with costings.

 

Decision

 

The Committee noted the report and recommended that Council approve and adopt the Gambling Policy 2022-2025.