Agenda and minutes

To consider any appeals in accordance with Procedure Rule 15.2 of the Access to Information Procedure Rules (in the event of an Appeal the press and public will be excluded)

(*In accordance with Procedure Rule 15.2, written notice of an appeal must be received by the Head of Governance Services at least 24 hours before the meeting)

There were no appeals against the refusal of inspection of documents.

The agenda did not contain any exempt information.

  No late items of business were added to the agenda.

To disclose or draw attention to any interests in accordance with Leeds City Council’s ‘Councillor Code of Conduct’.

  No declarations of interest were made.

  Apologies for absence were received from Councillors N Buckley, Holroyd-Case, D Seary and Senior.

To approve the minutes of the last meeting held on 24^th May 2024.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the previous meeting held 24^th May 2024 be agreed as a correct record.

To consider the report of the Chief Officer Elections and Regulatory presenting the draft Statement of Licensing Policy under the Gambling Act 2005 prior to a 6 week consultation with the public and interested parties, as required by the Act.

The Policy forms part of the Council’s Budget and Policy Framework, and following the consultation, will be presented to Licensing Committee, Executive Board and Scrutiny Board before being presented to full Council for adoption.

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Officer Elections and Regulatory which presented the draft Statement of Licensing Policy under the Gambling Act 2005 prior to a 6 week consultation with the public and interested parties, as required by the Act.

The report included a copy of the Draft Statement of Licensing Policy at Appendix 1 with a Summary of the proposed changes attached as Appendix 2.

The Principal Licensing Officer presented the report, highlighting the requirement for a triennial review of the Policy which formed part of the Council’s Budget and Policy Framework. The draft Policy was presented to provide an opportunity for the Committee to provide comment or identify any amendments prior to it being released for consultation with the people and organisations affected by the proposals. The outcome of the consultation will be presented to Licensing Committee, prior to the Policy being considered by the Executive Board and Scrutiny Board (Strategy and Resources) before being presented to full Council for adoption.

The following key issues were highlighted:

·  The draft Policy reflected the national change in language around gambling being driven by Public Health. The use of ‘problem gambling’ and ‘vulnerable persons’ laid the responsibility on the person experiencing addiction, and the language had been amended to consider “Gambling Harms” throughout the draft Policy.

·  The research undertaken in 2016 by Leeds Beckett University for Leeds City Council prior to the opening of Leeds Large Casino had been included in the previous Policy and had been widely used to describe groups of people who could be considered to be vulnerable to or at a high risk of gambling harms. That research had been largely replaced as the Licensing Authority now worked more closely with Public Health which had more recent research. The draft Policy also included input from the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities.

·  The draft Policy referenced the work undertaken with the Scrutiny Board (Strategy and Resources) in 2023 on gambling harms and the Council’s approach which had recognised that gambling harm should be regarded as a Public Health issue.

·  The partnership approach of the work undertaken by the Leeds Gambling Harms Group which included representatives of local treatments services, Third Sector, Citizens Advice Bureau, LCC Financial Inclusion team, Public Health and the Licensing Authority.

·  The draft Policy also included updated requirements of operators/licence holders.

Additionally, the Committee noted the intention to offer a training session on Gambling Harms to all Members in November 2024 with Members of the Committee invited to attend.

During discussions the following matters were considered:

Breadth of consultation – In response to a query whether consultation was undertaken with people with experience of gambling and staff who worked in gambling premises, rather than an operators Head Office, the Committee heard that each gambling premises in Leeds was contacted as part of the process, as well as their legal representative and Head Office. It was noted that premises managers often regarded the consultation process as a corporate issue and passed it onto  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

To note the date and time of the next meeting as Tuesday 6^th August 2024 at 10.00 am.

RESOLVED - To note the date and time of the next meeting as Tuesday 6th August 2024 at 10.00 am.