Clause 146 - Delegation to licensing committee
Gambling Bill
3:15 pm
Mr Malcolm Moss (Shadow Minister, Home Affairs; North East Cambridgeshire, Conservative)
I am grateful to the Minister for giving way and for his explanation so far. It is interesting to note that he and his officials are taking into account the concern that has been raised already. The Minister is responsible for the 2003 Act in any event; however, there are differences.
To do their job properly in relation to premises licenses, councillors on committees will have to take on board a great deal of information relating to licensing pubs and clubs, and to make the right decisions they will, separately, have to take on board quite a lot of the Bill's contents. That is a considerable overload and, if we are not careful, the two periods may overlap in such a way that the service provided to businesses, which need quick, appropriate decisions, will prove logistically difficult to deliver.