Agenda item

To consider a report of the Licensing Committee proposing the adoption of a new Statement of Licensing Principles in accordance with the requirements of the Gambling Act 2005.

LICENSING COMMITTEE 

(Marianne Bernadette Fredericks)

21 October 2015

Gambling Act 2005 – Review of Statement of Licensing Principles

The Gambling Act 2005 requires all licensing authorities to produce and publish a Statement of Licensing Principles (‘policy’). As prescribed by the statutory timetable the City Corporation produced its first such statement at the time the Act came into force in January 2007. The legislation requires that all authorities review their policy at three yearly intervals. The Policy was last reviewed in January 2013 and therefore was required to be reviewed by January 2016. 

The Licensing Committee had recently reviewed the City’s policy and undertaken consultation on a proposed new policy, with the intention of publishing the new document by the end of January 2016. The new policy contained minor administrative amendments to reflect some of the latest guidance issued by the Gambling Commission and, as such, was intended to be an interim policy until a more substantial policy fully reflecting the government’s changes to published guidance could be brought before Members for approval before the end of 2016. 

The Deputy Chairman advised that the consultation period for the policy being proposed had concluded on 13 January 2016 and advised the Court that no substantial comments had been received to alter the policy as recommended.

It was therefore recommended that the draft Statement of Licensing Principles, as set out in the Appendix, be approved as the text of the City of London Statement of Licensing Principles.

Resolved – that the draft Statement of Licensing Principles, as set out in the Appendix to the report, be approved as the text of the City of London Statement of Licensing Principles.