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Dear Sir/Madam

Consultation on the draft Gambling Act 2005 (Mandatory and Default Conditions) (Scotland) Regulations 2006

I am writing to advise you that the Scottish Executive is undertaking a consultation on draft regulations which specify the mandatory and default conditions to be attached to Scottish premises licences. A similar consultation exercise is taking place in England and Wales. There are no particularly Scottish elements in what is being proposed, so the draft regulations replicate the provisions of the equivalent English ones.

Background

The Gambling Act 2005 gives Scottish Ministers powers to make regulations which provide for conditions to be attached to premises licences under sections 167 and 168 of the Act - 2 types of conditions may be attached. The conditions attached to premises licences under section 168 will attach to all specified types of premises licence, unless they are excluded by the licensing authority responsible for issuing the premises licence ("default conditions"). The conditions attached to premises licences under section 167 will attach to all specified types of premises licence and can only be amended or excluded by further regulations made by Scottish Ministers ("mandatory conditions").

Scottish Ministers and DCMS Ministers have stated publicly that increased social responsibility lies at the heart of the new regulatory regime and that protection of the public (especially children and the vulnerable) is the top priority in implementing the Act's provisions. Within that overall policy framework, the policy objective for these regulations is that mandatory conditions will apply basic minimum requirements to all premises licence holders and the regulations mostly comprise such conditions. Default conditions apply where a general industry/sector-wide approach is desirable in order to assist national consistency, but allow licensing authorities to respond to local circumstances by altering those conditions if necessary. The default conditions contained in the regulations relate solely to opening hours.

The regulations, which contain numerous measures designed to protect children and vulnerable people, cover the following sectors of the gambling industry in Scotland:

Casino premises licences (both existing and new ones permitted under the Act)
Bingo premises licences
Adult gaming centre premises licences
Family entertainment centre premises licences
Betting premises licences (other than tracks)
Track premises licences (horse-racing and dog-racing tracks)

I attach a draft of the regulations the Scottish Ministers would like to lay before the Scottish Parliament and we would welcome your comments on the draft. The regulations are subject to the "affirmative resolution" procedure, ie laid in draft and cannot be made until approved by resolution of the Scottish Parliament.

The aim is for full implementation of the Gambling Act on 1 September 2007 but numerous regulations (including Scottish ones) have to be implemented before then, over a phased period. A key target date is 30 April 2007 when licensing authorities (Licensing Boards in Scotland) will begin to accept advance applications for permissions under the Act (as part of the transitional arrangements) and several of the SSIs (including the mandatory and default conditions regulations) will need to be in force by then.

Further draft regulations will issue shortly for consultation, including the related premises licence regulations which will cover aspects such as the form and content of the licence.

A copy of the Gambling Act can be obtained from The Stationery Office at TSO Scotland Bookshop, 71 Lothian Road, Edinburgh EH3 9AZ tel: 0870 606 5566 or e-mail: Edinburgh.bookshop@tso.co.uk or can be viewed on the following website http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2005/20050019.htm

Responding to this consultation

We are inviting written responses to this consultation by Friday 22 December 2006. Please send your response to: ken.mckenna@scotland.gsi.gov.uk or

If you have any queries contact Ken McKenna on 0131 244 3199

This consultation will run for 8 weeks from 27 October to 22 December 2006. Normally the consultation period would have been 12 weeks. However, due to the Scottish Parliamentary election to be held in May 2007, we have had to reduce this period in order to meet the deadline for laying regulations before the Scottish Parliament in February 2007. This consultation, and all other Scottish Executive consultation exercises, can be viewed online on the consultation web pages of the Scottish Executive website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations. You can telephone Freephone 0800 77 1234 to find out where your nearest public internet access point is.

The Scottish Executive now has an email alert system for consultations ( SEconsult: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations/seconsult.aspx). This system allows stakeholder individuals and organisations to register and receive a weekly email containing details of all new consultations (including web links). SEconsult complements, but in no way replaces SE distribution lists, and is designed to allow stakeholders to keep up to date with all SE consultation activity, and therefore be alerted at the earliest opportunity to those of most interest. We would encourage you to register.

Handling your response

We need to know how you wish your response to be handled and, in particular, whether you are happy for your response to be made public. Please complete and return the Respondent Information Form enclosed with this consultation paper as this will ensure that we treat your response appropriately. If you ask for your response not to be published we will regard it as confidential, and we will treat it accordingly.

All respondents should be aware that the Scottish Executive is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and would therefore have to consider any request made to it under the Act for information relating to responses made to this consultation exercise.

Next steps in the process

Where respondents have given permission for their response to be made public (see the attached Respondent Information Form), these will be made available to the public in the Scottish Executive Library and on the SE consultation web pages shortly after the closing date. We will check all responses where agreement to publish has been given for any potentially defamatory material before logging them in the library. You can make arrangements to view responses by contacting the SE Library on 0131 244 4565. Responses can be copied and sent to you, but a charge may be made for this service.

What happens next ?

Following the closing date, all responses will be analysed and considered along with any other available evidence to help us reach a decision on the final shape of the regulations. We will issue a report on this consultation process shortly after the closing date and the outcome of the consultation will help to inform the final version of the regulations that will be laid before the Scottish Parliament.

Comments and complaints

If you have any comments about how this consultation exercise has been conducted, please send them to the contact point as detailed above.

Yours faithfully
Ken McKenna

Respondent Information Form: Consultation on the Draft Gambling Act 2005 (Mandatory and Default Conditions) (Scotland) Regulations 2006

Please complete the details below and return it with your response. This will help ensure we handle your response appropriately. Thank you for your help.

The Scottish Executive Consultation Process

Consultation is an essential and important aspect of Scottish Executive working methods. Given the wide-ranging areas of work of the Scottish Executive, there are many varied types of consultation. However, in general, Scottish Executive consultation exercises aim to provide opportunities for all those who wish to express their opinions on a proposed area of work to do so in ways which will inform and enhance that work.

The Scottish Executive encourages consultation that is thorough, effective and appropriate to the issue under consideration and the nature of the target audience. Consultation exercises take account of a wide range of factors, and no two exercises are likely to be the same.

Typically Scottish Executive consultations involve a written paper inviting answers to specific questions or more general views about the material presented. Written papers are distributed to organisations and individuals with an interest in the issue, and they are also placed on the Scottish Executive web site enabling a wider audience to access the paper and submit their responses ¹. Consultation exercises may also involve seeking views in a number of different ways, such as through public meetings, focus groups or questionnaire exercises. Copies of all the written responses received to a consultation exercise (except those where the individual or organisation requested confidentiality) are placed in the Scottish Executive library at Saughton House, Edinburgh (K Spur, Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh, EH11 3XD, telephone 0131 244 4565).

All Scottish Executive consultation papers and related publications (eg, analysis of response reports) can be accessed at: Scottish Executive consultations ( http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations)

The views and suggestions detailed in consultation responses are analysed and used as part of the decision making process, along with a range of other available information and evidence. Depending on the nature of the consultation exercise the responses received may:

• indicate the need for policy development or review
• inform the development of a particular policy
• help decisions to be made between alternative policy proposals
• be used to finalise legislation before it is implemented

Final decisions on the issues under consideration will also take account of a range of other factors, including other available information and research evidence.

While details of particular circumstances described in a response to a consultation exercise may usefully inform the policy process, consultation exercises cannot address individual concerns and comments, which should be directed to the relevant public body.

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