Examination of Witnesses (Questions 938
- 939)
TUESDAY 27 JANUARY 2004
MR NICK
HARDING, MR
ANTHONY BRENNER
AND DR
MARTIN RAWLINGS
Q938 Chairman: Good morning. Could
I welcome our second group of witnesses. Gentlemen, could I begin
by asking you this: a number of submissions to the Committee,
including those from the three sectors of the market that you
represent, have suggested it is difficult to comment on the draft
Bill as key information is missing. Would you care to expand on
that, please?
Mr Harding: We know that around
one-third of the clauses of the Bill are still to be released.
We feel there is a lot of detail, such as codes of practice, guidelines
and so on, even clarification as to what the precise gaming area
of a casino will consist of and how a gaming table is to be defined.
It is such far-reaching proposed new legislation that it is very
difficult to comment in its entirety without all the information
being provide.
Dr Rawlings: We would certainly
echo that. In our particular case there is nothing about the pub
sector on how machines will be controlled essentially through
the liquor licence rather than through the Gaming Commission.
We are unclear therefore what the relationship between the Gaming
Commission and the pub sector is. We also need to know what the
differentiation between the Commission and the local authorities
will be, and hope we have a question later on about guidance,
but guidance to local authorities we believe is crucially important.
I would just like to echo the fear BACTA expressed of over-regulation
here on what we would certainly consider the lower risk end of
the market.
Mr Brenner: We were surprised
to see so much detail missing in the price of the cost of licences,
appeal processes, grandfather rights, and the guidance to local
authorities. We share the view of BCTA, and I would like to echo
what my colleagues here have said.
Q939 Chairman: Do you all have a
worry when all of that detail emerges that it will increase the
level of regulation and the cost of it that your members have
to meet?
Dr Rawlings: Absolutely, Chairman.
That is crucial as far as we are concerned. We have heard earlier
how the Commission could grow; how that cost is to be met without
being clear as to what those costs are going to be. I have echoed
some of the concerns in the licensing bill running through all
that bill as to how much it cost, and there was a lot more information
there than there certainly is in any drafting or policy instructions
that have come out so far.
Mr Harding: I think it would be
difficult to see how the cost of licensing would be sufficiently
proportionate for everybody to be paying their fair share to support
this bureaucracy which would be created.
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