§ Mr. HoltTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when and how he intends to conduct the deregulation review of the opening hours of licensed betting offices; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter LloydThe opening hours of licensed betting offices would be likely to be among the matters considered by an inquiry into the financing of horse and greyhound racing, since the racing and betting industries are interlinked. My right hon. and learned Friend is at present considering whether or not to establish such an inquiry. If in due course it seems right to conduct separately the review of betting office opening hours, the review will itself be conducted within the Government's policy on gambling, with no prior assumption about whether or not the hours should be varied, and in consultation with outside interests, including, for example, organisations representative of off-course and on-course bookmakers, betting office employees, horse racing and greyhound racing, the betting office licensing authorities, the police, the local authorities and those concerned with the study of gambling.