None.

The Executive Director for Communities and People has submitted a report to agree the revised draft Statement of Gambling Licensing Policy following public consultation.

The Committee is asked to:

1.     Consider the report and draft Statement of Gambling Licensing Policy

2.     Agree the revised draft Statement of Gambling Licensing Policy following public consultation

3.     Recommend the agreed Statement of Gambling Licensing Policy to Full Council for adoption

The Executive Director for Communities and People had submitted a report to agree the revised draft Statement of Gambling Licensing Policy following public consultation.

Emma Thompson, Senior Compliance Licensing Officer introduced the report. She informed the Committee that the Gambling Act 2005 required Licensing Authorities to review its policies every three years; the

current Policy was due to expire on 30 January 2025. Proposed revisions include amendments to the Licensing Authority and other Responsible Authority's addresses, an amended map of Oxford with new ward names and boundaries, along with minor textual amendments as highlighted in the supplied report. Though not required, the Local Area Profile had also been revised to reflect update hyperlinks of relevant webpages for better awareness of the local area and risks.

The Licensing Officer added that an assessment of the Policy's impact on groups protected by the Equality Act 2010, as well as a six-week consultation, were carried out. The results of which had been appended to the report.

The Committee expressed thanks to the Officers involved in the revision of the Policy and managed the consultation process.

During the discussion, the Committee noted the following points:

• The Gambling Commission oversaw the process of a licence review initiated by Interested Parties or Responsible Authorities. Relevant applications would then be submitted to the Licensing Authority who would then bring the matter to the Licensing and Gambling Acts Sub-Committee for determination. This process was set out on page 28 of the Policy.
• The Committee queried why Gamblers Anonymous was not listed as an organisation consulted. It was confirmed that Gamblers Anonymous had been consulted as part of the process and received both email and paper notifications. It was assumed that the Gambling Commission did not designate them as a statutory consultee.
• A minor typo in the table of contents, under Part B, number 23.

The Committee suggested including additional text on page 21, under section 25, stating that any licence review requests would be referred to the LGA Sub-Committee, with a cross-reference to the table on page 28 of the Policy for further clarity.

The Committee resolved to:

1. Agree the revised draft Statement of Gambling Licensing Policy following public consultation;
2. Recommend the agreed Statement of Gambling Licensing Policy to Full Council for adoption.

Recommendation: to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 20 May 2024 as a true and accurate record.

The Committee resolved to approve the minutes of the meeting held 20 May 2024 as a true and accurate record.

The Committee is scheduled to meet at 6.00pm on the following dates:

·       10 February 2025

·       19 May 2025

The Committee noted the dates and times of future meetings.