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Categories of Gaming Machine (Amendment) Regulations 2009

My Lords, I thank noble Lords for taking part in the debate this evening. It is fair to say that the contributions reflected the broad spectrum of opinion that the Government received during the consultation process. I am not going to join the noble Lord, Lord Addington, in speculating about which part of the Government’s, or my own, anatomy is relevant here, or in speculating about whether this is enough, too late, too little, whether there should be more, or whether there should be any at all. Suffice it to say that the Government have sought to strike a balance between these understandably competing views. I shall answer some of the specific questions. The noble Baroness, Lady Howe, if I understood correctly, was suggesting that in some way, shape or form public money was being invested in these areas. That is not the case. We are providing a relaxation and, one could argue, liberalisation, to allow the operators to become more commercially attractive and more competitive, but this is in no way, shape or form government money, let alone more government money. The noble Lord, Lord Addington, asked whether this is enough or whether it is too late. We believe that we have moved things on as quickly as we could and as we should. I understand the point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Golding, that there are many voices in the industry which would like to see more and would like to see it faster. The Government are trying to get the balance right. The Gambling Act is relatively new legislation. I do not think that it is a legitimate criticism from the noble Lord, Lord Luke, to suggest that it is in a muddle and it is time for a review. We do not know enough yet to know whether we should be reviewing what was essentially a new regime that was put in place. He and his colleagues in the other place may have the view that now is the time to reverse the more damaging aspects of the 2005 Act. The Government’s view is that we do not yet know enough to be able to make those determinative judgments. We thought that it was right to take the time to consider the concerns raised by groups in consultation, and we also needed to take the time to ensure that the changes to individual areas were consistent with the overall licensing objectives that were a central part of the 2005 regime. We would not describe that as a muddle in the market; we would describe it as a balance in the regime, hence the reason for taking the time that was asked for. The right reverend Prelate asked questions around whether this is a contradiction of the comments, or possibly the promises, that the previous Secretary of State had made on this measure. This is not a relaxation in any way, shape or form of the regulatory regime. The regulations, as I said in my opening remarks, need to be considered in the context of the whole regime. The increases are being enacted via secondary legislation. Although I was not involved in the debate at the time—I was an observer—I think that the Government were referring to those aspects that were debated in Parliament through the Bill, which is the overarching regulatory regime. I was reassured to hear that the right reverend Prelate has participated in penny-falls and crane-grabs, not least because I am a parent. It would be inappropriate for a government Minister to make an observation on the odds of that crane actually ever bringing anything to the point where it gets dropped into the waiting hands of the paying customer. Nevertheless, it is the case that there is a clear level of customer satisfaction and enjoyment. For what it is worth, I am not a gambler, at least not in the financial sense of that word, but I share the view of the noble Baroness, Lady Golding, that gambling is an entertainment activity that for many millions of people is a very legitimate form of controlled and balanced entertainment and satisfaction. It is entirely appropriate for this House to speak up for that vibrant and thriving industry. It is clear that the arcade operators need to find a route to competition. I think that the noble Lord, Lord Addington, was making that point about the real attractiveness of those operations. Clearly, we need to get the balance right between the arcade operators and what might be called the harder gambling environments. We do not believe for a second that this provision answers all of those problems, but it will contribute to the industry’s ability to reinvent itself and make it competitive. The noble Lord, Lord Luke, asked why we had not looked at category B3 machines. Our view is that we brought forward this particular issue exceptionally to look at category C and D machines. I think that we have made it clear to the industry that we are not yet convinced that a sufficient case has been made for increasing the category B entitlement. If we were bringing that to the House today, considerably stronger voices would be raised saying that that case has not been made. I feel comfortable that the Government are in the right place on those issues. Overall, gambling is a delicate area but not a difficult one. We need to get the balance right and these are small changes for a particular area of commercial activity. We do not for a second believe that this will reinvigorate the English seaside resort. However, as a regular attendee of UK seaside resorts, I think that it would be fair to point to the improvements made over the past 12 to 15 years in water quality and the bathing environment, in the quality of meals in pubs and in the opportunity for people to enjoy that holiday environment—not to mention the competitiveness of sterling, which is making UK resorts ever more attractive. This small measure will, we hope, allow our seaside arcades to make themselves more attractive, more competitive and more commercially viable. Motion agreed. Sitting suspended.