Agenda and minutes

The Chair reminded those present that the meeting was being filmed and would be available following the meeting via the Council’s website – Click Here to View.  Members were advised that voting on decisions would take place via Microsoft Forms.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors J. Bevan, D. Cushing, W. David, D. Harse, J. Simmonds and Mrs J. Stone.

There were no declarations of interest received at the commencement or during the course of the meeting.

Lee Morgan (Licensing Manager) presented the report, which informed Members of the result of consultation carried out to review the Statement of Gambling Licensing Policy, and sought the views of Members prior to its presentation to Council on 26th January 2022.

Members were advised that in accordance with the Gambling Act 2005, the Licensing Authorities must prepare, consult upon and approve a Statement of Gambling Licensing Policy that must be reviewed every three years. The current Policy was approved by Council and published in January 2019.  The policy must contain objectives regarding the prevention of gambling from being a source of crime or disorder, being associated with crime and disorder or being used to support crime, ensuring that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way, and protecting children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling.

It was noted that the Policy has been reviewed and a consultation exercise undertaken with relevant bodies (for example the Police and the Gambling Commission), individuals, residents and businesses throughout the borough between 8th October 2021 and 8th November 2021.

Members were advised that 2 responses were received during the consultation period, which were summarised in Section 5.5 of the report.  The first response was from Gamble Aware, who acknowledged receipt of consultation and the ability to comment on the Council’s policy. Within their response, they encouraged local authorities to signpost people to the National Gambling helpline and its website in relation to offering support as part of the National Gambling Service. As a result of this feedback, the contact details for Gamble Aware will be added to the information section within the updated Statement of Gambling Licensing Policy.  The second response was received anonymously from a resident which stated that “Too many licenses granted for too many events with insufficient staff to check and monitor”.  However, no other information was provided in order to clarify the context of the comments and so Licensing Officers are unable to explore this response further.

The Licensing Manager also outlined the main amendments proposed for the Policy which were reflected as track changes in the revised Statement of Gambling Licensing Policy (attached as Appendix 1 to the report). The main body of the policy remains generally unchanged, apart from updated contact details for Responsible Authorities and revised dates for consultation, publication etc.  The main change relates to Annex 7 (Mandatory, Default and Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Pool of Model Conditions for Gambling Premises Licences).  Previous versions of the policy included the mandatory and default conditions but not the Caerphilly CBC Pool of Model conditions.  The pool of model conditions will assist gambling operators, responsible authorities and interested parties when considering conditions to deal with specific issues and concerns.  These conditions will also encourage a consistent approach to the drafting and imposition of conditions on premises licences.

The Committee were advised that the existing Statement has been effective and continues to achieve its aims.  Officers are aware that UK Government are undertaking  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.