The Licensing & Regulatory Committee of Oadby and Wigston Council scheduled a meeting to discuss a new Statement of Gambling Policy and review the Selective Licensing Scheme. The meeting was scheduled to take place on Thursday, 18 September 2025. Councillor Clare D Kozlowski, Chair of the Committee, was scheduled to chair the meeting.

Statement of Gambling Policy

The committee was scheduled to consider a draft Statement of Gambling Policy (2025-2028) for recommendation to the Full Council. The Gambling Act 2005 requires the council to prepare and publish a Statement of Principles, known as a Policy, every three years. The draft policy was out for consultation, and any amendments arising from the consultation process were scheduled to be considered.

The report pack stated that the main changes in the updated draft policy focused on local information and the local area profile of gambling premises. The policy includes sections on:

• Licensing objectives, which are:

  • Preventing gambling from being a source of crime and disorder
  • Ensuring that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way
  • Protecting children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling

• Responsible authorities, including the Gambling Commission and the police

• Interested parties, who can make representations about a licence application

• Information exchange with other regulatory bodies

• Licensing authority functions, such as licensing premises for gambling activities

• Local risk assessment

• Local area profile, including statistics on gambling harms in Oadby & Wigston

• General statement of principles

• Conditions attached to licences

• Legislation and strategies

• Promotion of equality

• Disabled access

• Relationship with planning

• Decision making

• Types of licence, including casinos, adult gaming centres, betting premises, family entertainment centres, bingo premises and tracks

• Reviews of licences

• Permits and registrations

• Enforcement

• Complaints against licensed premises

The foreword to the draft policy states:

From the inception of the Act, the Policy has aided the promotion of the main licensing objectives

The draft policy included a list of bodies consulted, including GambleAware, GamCare, Leicestershire Police, and all betting premises within the Borough of Oadby and Wigston.

Review of Selective Licensing Scheme

The committee was also scheduled to review the Selective Licensing Scheme (2020-2025) in the South Wigston ward. The report provided information regarding the outcomes, successes, and challenges faced by the Scheme.

The council's adopted Corporate Plan (2019-2024) committed to introducing a Selective Licensing Scheme for all Private Sector Housing Rentals with a view to improving general house conditions across the Borough.

The report noted that the legislation gives local authorities the power to introduce Selective Licensing of privately rented homes in order to tackle problems in their areas, such as poor property conditions, an influx of migration, a high level of deprivation, high levels of crime, low housing demand, or significant anti-social behaviour.

The Scheme started on 5 May 2020, with an initial application deadline of 7 December 2020. The designation covered the entire South Wigston Ward due to low housing demand, anti-social behaviour, poor property conditions, deprivation, and high levels of crime.

The report detailed the effectiveness of the Scheme by comparing data provided to justify its approval with equivalent data sets to evidence any trends or correlation since its introduction.

The report stated that engagement with the Scheme had been positive, with 895 applications received across its term. There were 788 active licences at the end of the Scheme, and 105 applications were withdrawn due to properties no longer being rented or transferring ownership.

The report also identified challenges and lessons learned, including the impact of COVID-19, staffing changes, property inspections, collection of enforcement income, and strategic performance indicators.

The report concluded that the scheme had been effective in areas of compliance and housing standards, but could have been more effective in community engagement, anti-social behaviour and crime.