Clause 112 - Revocation
Gambling Bill
10:30 am
Mr Don Foster (Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport, Culture, Media & Sport; Bath, Liberal Democrat)
I beg to move amendment No. 246, in clause 112, page 52, line 10, at end add—
'(5) A licence holder shall at its option be entitled to an oral hearing before the Commission should the provisions of this section apply.',
''failure to pay is attributable to administrative error.''
I remind the Minister that that was what I meant earlier and I was surprised that he did not refer to the matter himself.
The revocation of an operating licence is a very serious matter indeed and can significantly affect the livelihoods of the licence holder. From time to time, revocation may be necessary to protect various members of the public. At the same time, however, I am sure that we would agree that the revocation of a licence should take place only after the licence holder has had every opportunity to put his or her case.
On occasions, some holders of an operating licence might find it easier to present their case in oral form than to do so in written form. The amendment therefore merely seeks to ensure that an operator whose licence is being considered for revocation has the opportunity to put their case in an oral hearing before the commission. The matter is quite simple and the Minister might tell me that that will be allowed anyway under another clause, in which case I will happily withdraw the amendment. Otherwise, I hope that he will explain why what is allowed in all other forms of natural justice will not be allowed in this case, where the removal of an operating licence is a significant event in the life of an operator.