Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Council Offices, Coalville

Contact: Democratic Services  01530 454512

Media

Items
No. Item

5.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors M French, S Gillard, K Merrie, V Richichi, A C Saffell, N Smith and M B Wyatt.

 

6.

Declarations of Interest

Under the Code of Conduct members are reminded that in declaring disclosable interests you should make clear the nature of that interest and whether it is pecuniary or non-pecuniary.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

 

7.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 190 KB

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 30 June 2021.

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting held on 30 June 2021.

 

It was moved by Councillor G Hoult, seconded by Councillor J Simmons and

 

RESOLVED THAT:

 

The minutes of the meeting held on 30 June 2021 be agreed as a correct record.

 

8.

Gambling Act SOLP Review pdf icon PDF 245 KB

Report of the Licensing Team Leader

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Licensing Team Leader presented the report to Members.

 

During discussion a question was raised on the use of the map within the policy document as it was an outdated parish boundary map.  The Licensing Team Leader reported that it was included as an indicative view of the area covered but the comments were appreciated, and a more relevant version would be included in the final document.

 

Following the comments from some Members on the accessibility of the interactive maps linked within the policy document, the Environmental Health Team Manager offered the Committee Members assistance outside of the meeting whenever required.  Later in the meeting the Licensing Team Leader demonstrated how to use the interactive maps for the benefit of those Members that were unable to access them.

 

In relation to the number of gambling premises listed within the policy document, a Member questioned the premises in Ibstock as it had ceased operating.  The Licensing Team Leader agreed to investigate as he was not aware of the closure as the licence had not been surrendered.  He confirmed this was not unusual and would update the policy document as appropriate.

 

In response to a request from a Member, the Licensing Team Leader agreed to notify Committee Members when visits to gambling premises were arranged so that they could attend if they wished to.

 

A question was raised in relation to the data available for the ages of people affected by gambling harm and it was confirmed that a request had been made to Gamcare for this data, but it had not yet been received.

 

A concern was raised on the local area profile as the proposed policy changes indicated that the usage and reported demand for treatment or support across the District was high in some areas.  An assumption was made that the data was not available when the policy was last reviewed in 2018 and therefore the extent of numbers affected by gambling harm was not actually known when the policy was agreed in 2019.  The Environmental Health Team Manager confirmed that was correct and it was now the first time that Local Authorities had received this kind of data.  The plan was to use the data to create a picture of gambling harm across the district to understand the best way to deal with it in a licensing role, and it could mean that the solution would come from other areas within the public health service and charities.

 

Members were informed that if a member of the public were to contact the Council seeking support with a gambling problem, they would be signposted to the relevant organisations for support and directed to the information available on the Council’s website.

 

It was moved by Councillor J Hoult, seconded by Councillor E Allman and

 

RECOMMENDED THAT:

1)     The Gambling Act Statement of Licensing Policy be approved by Council at its meeting on 16 November 2021.

2)     The continuation of the delegation to the Head of Service in Consultation with the Portfolio  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.