Venue: Civic Centre, Gravesend, Kent
Contact: Committee Section
Items
No. |
Item |
45. |
Apologies
Minutes:
An
apology of absence was received from Cllr Steve Thompson, Cllr
Gurjit Bains and Cllr Lesley Boycott (Vice-Chair).
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46. |
Minutes PDF 119 KB
Minutes:
The Minutes of the meeting
held on 07 March 2016 were signed by the Chair.
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47. |
Declarations of Interests
Minutes:
The Chair declared a
personal non-prejudicial interest in that his son is the Director
of Communications at the Association of British Bookmakers.
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48. |
Gambling Commission Overview and Update
Minutes:
The Compliance Manager, Gambling Commission
gave a presentation to the Committee on what the Gambling
Commission are and their work around the UK (please see
supplementary).
Following Members questions the Compliance
Manager, Gambling Commission explained that:
- All staff that
work in gambling shops have to be trained to spot potentially
vulnerable people. They should notice tell-tale signs like long
periods spent in shops, repeated cash withdrawals from ATMs, smell
of alcohol, shouting and swearing at machines etc. They also have a
legal requirement to interact with any person they think has a
gambling problem
- Self-exclusion
does work Once someone has self-excluded themselves from a
premises, such as a betting shop, then that proprietor can inform
other similar premises in the vicinity so that the exclusion
applies there also. This information
sharing may be carried out by means of an app provided by the trade
body.
- A new optional
feature is being implemented within the next 6-8 months where you
can self-exclude yourself not only from all betting shops in the
area, but also from other types of gambling premises such as
arcades and bingo halls
- Operators
themselves can also chose to exclude problem gamblers
- Online gambling is
regulated in the UK and some illegal gambling websites have been
shut down. Regulation and enforcement of overseas remote operators
presents difficulties but new strategies and procedures are being
developed and introduced. ,
-
The Chair thanked the Compliance Manager,
Gambling Commission for an informative presentation.
Members noted the information
contained within the presentation.
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49. |
'When A Licensing Officer Calls'
Minutes:
The Licensing Officer gave a
detailed presentation to the Committee on the roles of the
Licensing Officer and maintaining proper standards in Gravesham
(please see supplementary).
The Licensing Officer expanded and gave
further information not included on some of the slides from her
presentation:
Licence Plates
- A white licence plate
means it is a Taxi for hire vehicle
- A yellow licence
plate means it is a private hire vehicle
- A green licence plate
means the vehicle can only be used for school runs
- All plates must be
visibly attached to the rear of the vehicle at all times unless the
driver has an exemption form which is granted by GBC under special
circumstances – this allows for the plate to be stored
elsewhere in the vehicle
What else do I want to see on
inspection?
- For all premises and clubs that hold
a licence under the Licensing Act 2003, it is mandatory to have
both the current owner and designated premises supervisor ‘s
( DPS) names on the licence otherwise it cannot remain open
- All establishments must have age
verification policies in place in case children try to get in
and/or purchase alcohol
- If a premises provides gaming
machines they must hold the relevant permit. All taxi vehicles must
have CCTV inside, a sticker informing customers that there is CCTV,
no smoking signs as well as a first aid kit and fire extinguisher
somewhere in the vehicle. This
is all checked on regularly
- Betting Premises can only have a
maximum of four fixed odds betting terminal (FOBT)
machines. as well as no drinking
(alcohol) and age verification policies
- Scrap metal sites must have a
licence and fully document all metal sales and purchases.
- A sex shop must have any windows
that can be looked through into the inside of the shop by
passers-by. There must be clear signs clarifying that no one under
18 may enter and clear prices on all
products.; Refreshments are not allowed
to be served on site
Safer Gravesham and Stronger Gravesham
- The Licensing team are part of
the Gravesham Safety Advisory Group
(SAG) and offer advice on making events
safer and making sure they meet the licensing requirements
- Taxi drivers are informed when
events are on and when there are severe traffic delays.
- The Safer Socialising Awards
inspections, both renewals and new applications are in progress.; A
team of officers from licensing,
trading standard and the
police inspect the premises and give them the award if they meet the
criteria
The Licensing Manager advised Members of the
following information with regard to the:
Sound and Self-Sufficient Council
objective
·
As of 2003, clubs and premises have had to pay an annual fee to the
local Council to operate. Since 2012 the law was amended so that if
the fee remains unpaid 21 days past the deadline, then their
licence may be suspended
·
So far around 20 have been suspended in Gravesham this year.
Annual fee invoices
have now been set up as automated PIMs.(periodic invoice masters)
...
view the full minutes text for item 49.
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