Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

An apology was received from Councillor Peter Clayton.

To approve the minutes from the previous meeting.

The Committee resolved that the minutes of the Licensing and Regulatory Committee held on 11 May 2023 be confirmed as a correct record.

To receive and note any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests, other registrable interests and non-registrable interests in respect of any matters included on the agenda for consideration at this meeting.

(The other registrable interests of Councillors of Somerset Council, arising from membership of City, Town or Parish Councils and other Local Authorities will automatically be recorded in the minutes.)

Councillorspresent atthe meetingdeclared thefollowing personalinterests in their capacity as a Councillor of a Town or Parish Council or any other Local Authority:-

Councillors Carswell and Kravis further declared personal interests as Gambling License Holders.

The Chair to advise the Committee of any items on which members of the public have requested to speak and advise those members of the public present of the details of the Council’s public participation scheme.

For those members of the public who have submitted any questions or statements, please note, a three minute time limit applies to each speaker and you will be asked to speak before Councillors debate the issue.

We are now live webcasting most of our committee meetings and you are welcome to view and listen to the discussion. The link to each webcast will be available on the meeting webpage, please see details under ‘click here to join online meeting’.

No questions or statements had been received for Public Question Time.

The Committee is asked to permit the draft Statement of Principles document to be made available for consultation as required by the Gambling Act 2005.

The Licensing and Fraud Manager, Alan Weldon, presented his report on the draft Statement of Principles document for the Gambling Policy and explained the consultation process to be followed.

During the discussion, the following points were raised:-

·       Councillors queried the link between Planning and Licensing and whether either department had the power to restrict how many gambling premises could be located within a certain area.

·       Councillors queried whether there was enough resource to carry out the necessary inspections.

·       Councillors requested clarification on demarcation and whether it should be the same for all.

·       Concern was raised on the suitability of the location of certain gambling premises, for example near schools, community halls and parks.

The Licensing and Fraud Manager advised that some premises had been established years ago before the Gambling Act 2005 had come into force.  He also clarified the aim was to permit gambling unless there was evidence of any problems in the area.

·       Concern was raised on applications being agreed by Planning Committee which might not meet the requirements of the Gambling Act 2005.

The Licensing and Fraud Manager agreed and advised that if that were to happen, a Licensing Sub-Committee would be required to make the decision.

·       Councillors mentioned the white paper that was due to go to consultation and the impact that might have on the policy.

·       Councillors highlighted that the Gambling Commission had clamped down on larger businesses which had had a good impact.

·       Councillors agreed the document had been well written and thanked the officers for their work.

Resolved that the Licensing and Regulatory Committee agreed to permit the draft Statement of Principles document be made available for consultation as required by the Gambling Act 2005.

To note the minutes from the meetings of the sub-committees.

The Committee noted that the minutes of the Licensing and Regulatory Sub-Committees held on 19 April 2023, 28 April 2023 and 15 May 2023 be confirmed as a correct record.