Mr.
Foster: I do not think that the Committee can allow the
Minister to get away with being so sanguine about the
Government’s policy. He is praising the Gambling Act 2005, when,
for example, despite the time spent discussing casinos, their number,
their locations and how they were to be regulated, there have been no
new ones since. Online gambling has grown phenomenally, but little of
it is based in this country.
The
Chairman: Order. When the Minister replies to that
interesting intervention from the hon. Member for Bath, I advise him to
return to the regulations, which relate to category C and D machines,
as he knows.
Mr.
Sutcliffe: I am very happy to do that, Mr.
Pope, and thank you again for giving us your invaluable advice. We will
return to the issues that the hon. Member for Bath raised at a later
date, and I look forward to a longer and more wide-ranging debate on
gambling. We will consider that in the future.
Returning to
category C and D machines, I was grateful to my hon. Friend the Member
for Selby for his intervention about the impact of the measures on
pubs, and I am happy that he feels that the steps that we are taking
will assist them. In other guises, he and I are working together do
what we can to ensure that pubs survive in these difficult times. I am
pleased that he is here with us today.
I do not want
to rehearse the arguments about bingo; it is a separate case, which is
why we did what we did. The hon. Member for Bath referred to Europe and
the timetable. On 11 March, the draft regulations were notified to the
European Commission. The standstill period will end on the 8 June, and
we will bring in the regulations immediately after that. In the time
that it would take me to renegotiate with Brussels, we will be there
already.
Mr.
Ellwood: Many people will ask why we are so slavish to EU
gambling regulations when we look over our shoulders and see how the
laws have been flagrantly abused by other countries, such as France,
Germany, Sweden and Austria, where people are allowed to operate in the
UK, but our companies are not allowed to operate in those
countries.
Mr.
Sutcliffe: I agree with the hon. Gentleman, and we have
taken up that issue with the Commission, as he knows. We try to promote
the interests of gambling companies in the UK to make sure that there
is a fair and level playing field in opening up competition, and we
will continue to do so.
The hon.
Member for Bath chided us about the delay in implementing the new
limits. We have done it as quickly as we have been able, given the
complexity of the arguments put to us. I believe that this is the right
decision. Other issues raised were outside category C and D machine
increases. Gambling is an emotive subject. We are pleased that we have
been able to get the issue of problem gambling resolved in terms of the
Gambling Commission’s powers and that the consultation on the
levy is coming to an end. I look forward to making some decisions
quickly.
Mr.
Sutcliffe: Quickly, as opposed to shortly or soon. That
will enable to us to ensure that the strategy board has been set up and
the reappraisal of RIGT will be important to ensure that problem
gamblers are looked after. We have the prevalence study every three
years, and it will look at trends. I do not wish to detain the
Committee any further and recommend that the regulations be
approved.
The
Chairman: I am sure the Committee would like to join me in
wishing many happy returns to the hon. Member for Bath.
[ Hon. Members: “Hear,
hear!”]
Question
put and agreed
to. Resolved, That
the Committee has considered the draft Categories of Gaming Machine
(Amendment) Regulations
2009. 5.11
pm Committee
rose.
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