Agenda and draft minutes

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 12 September 2024 be confirmed and signed by the Chair as an accurate record.

No declarations of interest were received.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Sub-Committee held on 29 August 2024 and 3 October 2024 be confirmed.

Ian Cullen, Licensing Team Leader:

a)    presented a report to update Licensing Committee on the result of the consultation on the Gambling Act 2005 Triennial Review of the Statement of Licensing Policy, under the Gambling Act 2005

b)    explained the background to the consultation process covering the following main points:

·       The Gambling Act 2005 required a Licensing Authority to publish its statement of Licensing Policy at least every three years; the current statement was due to expire on 31 January 2025.

·       The draft policy, as detailed within Appendix A of the report, was forwarded to a total of 47 persons/organisations and to every member of the Licensing Committee as well as being placed on the Councils website.

·       The consultation period commenced on 18 September 2024 and concluded on 24 October 2024. A total of 5 responses were received.

·       Of the 5 responses received, 4 of them were to advise that the consultee had no comment to make regarding the proposed policy.

·       The fifth response was received from Gosschalks Solicitors on behalf of the Betting and Gambling Council, as detailed at Appendix B of the report.

·       The points raised in the consultation response were acknowledged and appreciated. The Authority recognised that the risk assessments produced by applicants and operators were  dynamic documents and should therefore be updated and changed depending on circumstance. Any imposition of conditions would only be if the discretion of the Licensing Authority was engaged, and it was felt the risk assessments were not sufficient to address any perceived risk to the licensing objectives,

·       The policy had been amended to clarify that the examples given were meant as guidance for applicants when producing their risk assessments, rather than just conditions that would be added to the licence.

c)    requested that consideration be given to the policy prior to recommendation to full Council for approval.

The committee discussed the contents of the report in detail and the following key points were made in response to questions asked:

·       The consultation was advertised on the City of Lincoln Council’s website. In future, consideration could be given to publicising it on social media to direct people to the consultation on the website. This may increase the number of responses received.

·       Generally the response rate to consultations on Licensing Policies was fairly low, more responses were received on new policies than revised policies. This was not specific to Licensing, the response rate was similar to consultations across the Council.

·       The safeguarding measures to protect children in gambling establishments varied depending on the type of venue e.g. children were permitted to enter some premises but could not enter certain areas. It was the responsibility of the operator to know the laws and regulations and to offer their own measures to meet the licensing objectives.

·       There had been no reports in Lincoln to suggest that operators were allowing children to gamble on their premises outside of the law. If there was a report made and evidence provided then appropriate enforcement action would be taken.

RESOLVED  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.