Clause 107 - Lapse
Gambling Bill
10:15 am
Mr Richard Caborn (Minister of State (Sport and Tourism), Department for Culture, Media & Sport; Sheffield Central, Labour)
We are discussing two different types of licence: a premises licence and an operating licence. Amendment No. 243 would provide that an operating licence did not lapse on the holder's death. It is well intentioned and the case for it has been put quite strongly. When the owner of a business dies, it is common for it to pass to the surviving partner, be that a husband or a wife. However, we are considering operating licences, and the amendment would give rise to consequences that mean that, regrettably, I cannot support it.
A valid operating licence is central to the world-class system of regulation that we want in the UK. The issuing of a licence will involve stringent checks on the suitability of the applicant operator to carry out the gambling activities for which they are seeking a licence. That is vital if we are to provide a well regulated industry that is free from crime. Clearly, if the operator of a gambling business dies, those stringent checks should take place afresh on the new proposed operator, even if they are the surviving partner.
We have said many times that we want to transfer all the good in the Gaming Act 1968 to a modern setting by establishing a commission that is much stronger than the existing Gaming Board. Hon. Members have said that there are problems, but that is not the case. To date, even under the 1968 Act, a gaming or betting licence cannot be transferred, and the hardship that hon. Members have said could arise if a partner dies has not, to our knowledge, arisen since 1968, because stringent checks are in place. We are transferring those checks from the 1968 Act to the gambling commission. We are talking about an operating licence, not a premises licence, which can be transferred. It is for those reasons and to preserve the integrity of the betting industry that I ask the hon. Member for Colchester (Bob Russell) to withdraw his amendment.