Full Council carried the gambling harms emergency on 20 October with 30 votes in favour. What it commits Barnet to, and the slots hearings on 3 November.

Barnet Council has declared a gambling harms emergency. Full Council carried the motion on Tuesday 20 October.

The council’s head of governance counted 30 votes in favour, according to the meeting webcast. No figure was read out for votes against or abstentions before the motion was declared carried. The council has not yet published the minutes.

The motion was moved by Cllr Alison Moore, the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health. Conservative councillors criticised it in the debate.

What the council has now agreed to do

The motion as tabled commits the council to:

  • declare a gambling harms emergency in Barnet
  • write a Gambling Harms Strategy covering licensing, planning, public health, community safety, schools, debt advice and resident support
  • review its own advertising and sponsorship policies so they do not promote gambling
  • write to the Gambling Commission challenging what it calls the commission’s “hands-off approach to local licensing”
  • urge the government to set a start date for Gambling Impact Assessments, which would let councils adopt a presumption against new premises licences in vulnerable areas
  • back Brent Council’s and Dawn Butler MP’s campaign on gambling harm, and push for a new Gambling Act

No amendment was moved to this motion at the meeting.

The motion says Barnet Public Health is working on a local health needs assessment, paid for from the gambling levy.

What was said in the chamber

Cllr Moore told the meeting: “Asking Barnet Council to declare a gambling harms emergency may sound like a radical act, and perhaps it is for Barnet.”

She said the harm “is a public health and a community safety issue”, particularly in “our most deprived communities, where we see concentrations of betting shops and gaming centres”.

Cllr David Longstaff (Conservative, Barnet Vale) said gambling was “a serious issue” but “a national issue”. He argued the council should instead “declare a council tax harms emergency”.

Cllr Lucy Wakeley (Conservative, Edgware) said residents “don’t want more gambling shops opening up on their high streets”. She pointed to “another adult gaming centre proposed on Station Road in August”.

She called the motion’s actions “hardly the sort of actions that scream emergency”. She added: “I won’t vote against this motion because it clearly has good intentions.”

Replying, Cllr Moore said the Gambling Impact Assessment and the data behind it are “how we make our local arguments to resist the onward rise of gambling establishments”.

Two slots licences go to a hearing next week

The vote comes in the middle of two live gaming centre cases in the borough.

  • Merkur Slots, 867 Finchley Road, Golders Green. The Planning Committee refused planning permission on 14 October, by 7 votes to 0 with one abstention, against the officers’ advice.
  • Licence hearings on Tuesday 3 November. A Licensing Sub-Committee will hear Merkur’s application for an adult gaming centre premises licence at the same Finchley Road site, and a separate one for Palace Amusements at 226 Station Road, Edgware. Barnet Public Health objected to both. Our preview of the hearings sets out the objections and conditions.

Palace Amusements is on Station Road, the street Cllr Wakeley named in the debate.

The Budget also targets gaming centres

The Budget on 28 October moves in the same direction. The Chancellor told the Commons that adult gaming centres will be carved out of business rates reliefs, according to the Budget speech.

The speech also said Machine Games Duty will rise from 20% to 25% for higher-stakes machines, “whilst protecting pubs and seaside arcades”. The government says the money helps pay for business rates cuts for shops, pubs and cafes.

What it means for you

  • The emergency is a statement of intent, not a new power. Councils still have to apply the Gambling Act’s “aim to permit” duty when they decide licences. The motion itself calls for that duty to be removed.
  • You can still object to a gambling licence. Objections must be about the licensing objectives, such as crime and disorder or protecting children and vulnerable people. Applications are listed on the council’s licensing register.
  • Watch the 3 November hearings. They are the first test of the council’s stance since the vote. We will report both decisions.
  • Planning applications are separate. Our Barnet planning applications page explains how to comment on one.

If you or someone close to you is struggling with gambling, the National Gambling Support Network runs a free 24-hour helpline on 0808 8020 133.