Decision details

Received a report on the requirement for Local Authorities to establish a policy, in the form of a Statement of Principles, to enable consistent decisions to be made about gambling matters which will fall under Local Authority control when the Gambling Act 2005 comes into full effect in September 2007.

Noted the Council’s draft Statement of Principles, which has been produced in line with the guidance issued by the Gambling Commission and which will be the subject of a three-month public consultation exercise.  Discussed issues relating to the highly-prescriptive nature of the Commission’s guidance which proposes very little scope for local decision-making.

Agreed, in order to meet statutory requirements and assist the Council to achieve its Community Priority of ‘Developing Rights and Responsibilities with the Local Community’, to:

(i)  The ‘Gambling Act 2005 - Draft Statement of Principles’ document attached to the report being used for the purposes of the public consultation exercise; and

(ii)  The Council making strong representations to the Gambling Commission and Government that the views of Local Authorities and their residents should be a key aspect of the decision-making process on local gambling-related applications.