Betting Shops (Single Staffing)

Helen Grant Excerpts

Wednesday 5th February 2014 Westminster Hall

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Mrs Helen Grant)]

It is a pleasure, Mr Howarth, to serve under your chairmanship. I congratulate the hon. Member for Islwyn (Chris Evans) on securing this important debate; he speaks from a position of great experience on these issues. I acknowledge the important and thoughtful interventions made by my hon. Friends the Members for Shipley (Philip Davies) and for Bury North (Mr Nuttall) and, of course, by the hon. Member for Hyndburn (Graham Jones), who has just left the Chamber.

Hon. Members have made a number of points about single staffing in betting shops. I should like to set out clearly what controls are already in place and what the Government are doing in this area. I absolutely agree that betting shops should be sufficiently staffed to ensure that the licensing objectives of the Gambling Act 2005 are upheld, and I confirm that local authorities already have powers to ensure that this is the case.

The Gambling Act allows local authorities to attach conditions to betting shop premises licences where there are local concerns, including the compulsory use of CCTV, as mentioned by the hon. Member for Islwyn. There is evidence that local authorities are using these powers to good effect. The London borough of Newham used these powers in November 2013, when it imposed a number of licence conditions on a betting shop because of concerns that it attracted crime, disorder and underage gambling. The conditions include a requirement to have a minimum of two members of staff on duty throughout the whole day.

Westminster city council has been proactive in using powers under the Gambling Act. In response to concerns from residents, Westminster’s licensing service has implemented several new practices for assessing applications for new premises or for extended hours, imposing additional licence conditions where necessary. Westminster council requires betting shops to operate no pre-planned single staffing after 8 pm and to ensure there are a minimum of two staff members after 10 pm.

The examples I have provided show that we do not need new statutory regulations on businesses to enforce minimum staffing levels. It is right that local authorities, which know these areas best, in conjunction with businesses, are responsible for setting appropriate minimum staffing levels, depending on local circumstances. Staff safety was mentioned. The Government have made it clear that staff and customer safety in any workplace is of paramount importance. Employers have a legal duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of their staff. This applies to the betting industry as much as to anyone else.

The betting industry has taken steps to enhance staff safety in recent years. In 2010, the betting industry formed the Safe Bet Alliance, mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley, to tackle instances of crime against staff, customers and betting operators. The alliance’s principles agree a voluntary minimum standard of workplace safety and security for the industry. Those standards were developed in collaboration with the industry, police and local authorities. Statistics from the Association of British Bookmakers show that the number of robberies in London fell by 60% in the two years following the introduction of the code.

Although the Safe Bet Alliance was launched in London, all those standards have been adopted by the largest betting operators, which means that the vast majority of betting premises in England, Scotland and Wales are covered by those principles. Every employer must consider workplace risks to their employees. I expect all bookmakers to properly assess the appropriateness of single staffing as part of their business operations.

The hon. Member for Islwyn mentioned support for a national charter. The industry is implementing its social responsibility code, which includes points on staff safety, from March. The principles of any charter could perhaps be adopted in the existing code. There is certainly room for further discussions on that.

We have heard that single staffing limits the ability of staff to intervene when customers experience problems. It is essential that all gambling operators, not just betting shops, are able to provide support to customers who appear to be having difficulty. That is why it is already a condition of an operator’s licence granted by the Gambling Commission that licensees define their policies when there are concerns that a customer’s behaviour may indicate problem gambling. Those policies must include training for all staff on their respective responsibilities and how and when any customer intervention should occur. Those procedures must be adhered to as a minimum requirement by gambling operators. The Gambling Commission can take action, up to and including licence revocation, if there is evidence that a betting shop is failing or falling short of its obligations.

In conclusion, the safety of betting shop employees and customers is of paramount importance. Local authorities already have powers to impose licence conditions on betting shops to ensure that this is the case. It is right that these powers remain at local level.