Clause 76 - Requirement for personal licence
Gambling Bill
4:30 pm
Mr Don Foster (Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport, Culture, Media & Sport; Bath, Liberal Democrat)
I beg to move amendment No. 235A, in clause 76, page 33, line 45, at end add—
'(10) For the avoidance of doubt the provisions of this section shall be interpreted to be consistent with the provisions of Part 6 of this Act.'.
The amendment addresses an issue that was raised by the scrutiny Committee in its first report, published on 25 March this year. Its purpose is to be entirely helpful to the Government, because I genuinely believe that it would make the entire clause work much better. The amendment would ensure that the clause links with part 6 regarding personal licences. It would avoid any confusion that might arise if the two sections conflict on any issue, and thus would make the provisions work more effectively and allow the commission to use its powers without legal conflict.
I have no doubt that the Minister will have had a detailed legal briefing on the purpose of the amendment, so rather than going into greater detail, I shall look forward to his explanation of his understanding of it and his comments on it.