§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions her Department has held with owners of category D gaming machines in relation to the proposed ban on them in the Government's response to the Joint Select Committee on Gambling, broken down by(a) mini-cab offices, (b) fish and chip shops, (c) kebab shops, (d) other take-away food outlets and (e) others; and if she will make a statement. [187181]
§ Mr. CabornMany, if not most gaming machines, are owned by machine suppliers who have rental agreements with retail outlets. While the Department has had no recent discussions with trade associations representing any of the above categories of outlets, it 1223W meets regularly with trade associations who represent suppliers and manufacturers of gaming machines to discuss a range of matters relating to the Gambling Bill.
§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessments her Department has made of the likely impact of the ban on category D gaming machines proposed in the Government's response to the Joint Select Committee on Gambling on(a) mini-cab companies, (b) fish and chip shops, (c) kebab shops, (d) other take-away food outlets and (e) others; and if she will make a statement. [187182]
§ Mr. CabornThe Department will publish a full Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) for the Gambling Bill when publishing it. In the meantime, consultations on the RIA continue.
The Department's policy on the siting of Category D gaming machines acknowledges that their removal from unlicensed premises may reduce the turnover which they would otherwise have had; but we take the view that it is necessary to give more weight to the difficulties of ensuring that children are adequately supervised when using gaming machines in unlicensed premises and ensuring that unlawful machines are not sited there. We do not intend to cut back on entitlements to install machines conferred by current permits prior to their expiry.