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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
AGREED to recommend to Cabinet:- (i) the revised policy for adoption, (ii) No Casino resolution continued to be adopted; and (iii) that a leaflet highlighting the issues that arise from Gambling be sent to various Sports Clubs in Ceredigion, to distribute to their users
Councillor Gareth Lewis apologised for his inability to attend the meeting.
None.
None.
It was RESOLVED to confirm as a true record the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on the 28 September 2024. Matters arsing None.
Decision as recorded
AGREED to recommend to Cabinet:- (i) the revised policy for adoption, (ii) No Casino resolution continued to be adopted; and (iii) that a leaflet highlighting the issues that arise from Gambling be sent to various Sports Clubs in Ceredigion, to distribute to their users
Consideration was given to the Statement of Gambling Policy 2025-2028 and proposals for casino report. Councillor Matthew Vaux, Cabinet Member for Partnerships, Housing, Legal and Governance and Public Protection presented the report. He stated that one of the key functions of each Licensing Authority was to prepare and publish a Statement of Gambling Policy which sets out the basis upon which the Authority would make its licence application decisions. He reported that the duty to do this was contained within Section 349 of the Gambling Act 2005 which also requires the Licensing Authority to keep its Policy Statement under review generally, but to determine its Policy at least every 3 years, including undertaking a period of statutory consultation. The current three-year period began on 29th March 2022. Ceredigion had therefore entered the review period. The revised Gambling Policy would replace the current policy and the proposed minor changes to the current policy had been highlighted for ease of reference in red for Members to consider. The Statement of Policy forms the licensing authority’s approach to managing local gambling provisions and sets out how the licensing authority views the local risk environment and therefore its expectations in relation to operators with premises in the locality. The Statement of Policy acts as the primary vehicle for setting out the licensing authority’s approach to regulation having considered local circumstances. Since its publication in March 2022, the current Gambling policy had proved effective in guiding Officers, Members, the holders of licences and other authorisations granted under the Gambling Act 2005, plus members of the public, in understanding how the Authority would apply its’ discretion and use its powers under the Act. It was therefore not considered necessary to greatly change the information contained in the current Gambling policy. Additionally, the Gambling Commission was currently undertaking a review of the Social Responsibility Code of Practice, which would be done in stages with the final changes likely to be in force on 17th January 2025. The commission would review test purchasing, strengthen age verification from ‘Think 21’ to a ‘Think 25’ approach (if a person looks under 25 they will be asked to verify their age to prove they were in fact over 18 years old and permitted to gamble) and would also look at financial vulnerability checks. The Gambling Commission had informed the Local Authorities that they should still proceed with their updated Policy as the proposals in the Code of Practice should not impact the Local Authority statement of policy. The Gambling Act was still being reviewed and the Gambling Commission’s Policy Manager had issued a statement on this. Councillor Vaux reported that the Council would need to consider firstly if they wished to continue with the resolution not to have a casino within the County. The decision on this would then be inserted into the revised Gambling Policy. Central Government upon the advice of the Casino Advisory Panel permitted 8 large and 8 small casinos along with those who had grandfather rights when the Act came into force, which have all been duly issued. There was currently no further provision for more casinos to be allocated. However, the Council still need to consider the course of action they wish to take with casinos and place this within the Gambling Policy should the availability of casinos change. Before any licence for a Casino was granted, the Casino Advisory Panel would advise Central Government that the area was in need of regeneration and Cyngor Sir Ceredigion would have to satisfy them that this was the case along with the type of area, social impact, community benefits and unique characteristics. Section 349 of the Gambling Act 2005 provided that in preparing a revision of the statement of Gambling policy, the Authority should consult with: •The Chief Officer of Police for the Authority’s area; •One or more persons who appear to the Authority to represent the interests of persons carrying on gambling businesses in the Authority’s area, and •One or more persons who appear to the Authority to represent the interests of persons who are likely to be affected by the exercise of the Authority’s functions under the Act. The Gambling Commission guidance explains that this is “deliberately wide” as it allows Licensing Authorities to undertake a comprehensive consultation exercise with anyone who may be affected by, or otherwise have an interest in, their Gambling policy. The Guidance further provides that “it is a matter for licensing authorities to develop their own consultation practices, including the methods for consultation and who they consider it necessary to consult with, which might include consultation with relevant local groups, businesses and responsible authorities”. It was agreed that the consultation process followed a similar format to previous years and as only minimal changes are proposed to the existing Gambling policy, the duration of the consultation would be 8 weeks. This included: •Formal notification to the Chief Officer of Police, as specifically required under the Gambling Act 2005; •Written notification to - Responsible Authorities under the Act, and - Local gambling businesses, including their head office where appropriate; •Formal consultation via the Local Authority website to allow local residents, community groups, businesses and others to respond; •Consultation with other departments in respect of local risk assessments; and •Social media and other avenues were used to publicise the consultation. The draft Policy had been consulted upon in accordance with the Gambling Commission’s Guidance to Licensing Authorities. This included consultation with all Responsible Authorities under the Act, all Premises Licence Holders, and persons/bodies representative of businesses and residents in its area as well as all Elected Members of the County Council, Town and Community Councils and other consultees of the draft policy statement. The consultation period ran from 25 October 2024 until 20 December 2024. Eight responses to the consultation, six of these were from residents of Ceredigion. In 2021, we received thirteen responses and five in 2018. Two responses indicated that consideration should be made to making very minor changes to the draft policy. One of these related to changes on pages 9, 10 and 13 from ‘think 21’ to ‘think 25’. The second response was that there could be a greater link to the adverse health effects associated with problem gambling. None of the respondents indicated that they had experienced gambling related problems in their communities. Careful consideration was given to the responses and relevant information provided by those who responded to the consultation has included where appropriate. The Policy would be further reviewed when the new Gambling Act was published, and further guidance was received from the Gambling Association on the links between health and gambling. Following questions from the floor it was AGREED to recommend to Cabinet:- (i) the revised policy for adoption, (ii) No Casino resolution continued to be adopted; and (iii) that a leaflet highlighting the issues that arise from Gambling be sent to various Sports Clubs in Ceredigion, to distribute to their users
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