Schedule 3 - The Gambling Commission
Gambling Bill
4:00 pm
Mr Richard Page (South West Hertfordshire, Conservative)
I reiterate that the establishment of a gambling commission is at the heart of the Bill. If we do not get the commission and its structure right, we will be in trouble. The Gaming Board has done a marvellous job, but the role is to be expanded dramatically and the amount of money available will rise from some £4 million to between £9 million and £11 million. It is time to move on.
The amendment puts a finger on the difficulty that faces us all. We want the gambling commission to have the flexibility to react to change and to do so through regulation, but we do not want it to be so free and flexible that it does not have firm guidelines in primary legislation. The hon. Member for Bath made a valid point. Some people should be members as of right, rather than having a membership that is too broad and flexible and that could come from any sector of the community. Representation of the local authority is particularly relevant, because such people will have experience of licensing. My hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath spoke about some of the problems in Guildford. I am not saying that a local authority representative would have intimate knowledge of the matter, but they would have the ability to tap into the local authority network to get the vibrations on whether an applicant for a casino licence, for example, was the right sort of person and what operating experience they had.
There is a delicate balance to be struck and we must try to get it right when setting up the commission. We do not want to prescribe it so tightly that it has no room to breathe and no time to move and react to changed circumstances, but nor do we want it to be so free and sloppy that anything could happen.