7.1 The ‘Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP)’ issued by the Commission formalises the need for operators to consider local risks.

7.2 From April 2016 the ‘Social responsibility (SR) Code 10.1.1’ (issued by the Commission) will require applicants for the new grant of premises licence and existing licence holders to assess individual premises in order to identify any local risk the provision of gambling facilities may pose on the promotion of the licensing objectives; and to have policies, procedures and control measures to mitigate those risks. Licence holders will also be required to update an assessment:

• when applying for a variation of a premises licence
• to take account of significant changes in local circumstances, including those identified in a licensing authority’s policy statement, and
• when there are significant changes at a licensee’s premises that may affect their mitigation of local risks

7.3 From April 2016 the risk assessment compiled at the time that an application for the new grant, or for the variation, of a premises licence should be shared with the Council. Furthermore, should the Council have concerns about the operation of an existing licensed premise in relation to new or existing risks they may request that the licence holder to share a copy of its own risk assessment with them.

7.4 The Council expects an applicant or licence holder, when carrying out their risk assessment, to demonstrate that they have considered matters relevant to the locality of the applicant premises, such as:

• information held by the licence holder regarding self-exclusions and incidences of underage gambling
• arrangement for localised exchange of information regarding self-exclusions and gaming trends between gambling premises within the vicinity
• urban setting such as proximity to schools, commercial environment, factors affecting footfall
• range of facilities in proximity to the licensed premises such as other gambling outlets, banks, post offices, refreshment and entertainment type facilities

Matters relating to vulnerable adults, including:

• information held by the licence holder regarding self-exclusions and incidences of underage gambling
• arrangement for localised exchange of information regarding self-exclusions and gaming trends
• proximity of premises which may be frequented by vulnerable people such as hospitals, residential care homes, medical facilities, doctor’s surgeries, council housing offices, addiction clinics or help centres, places where alcohol or drug dependant people may congregate, etc.

Matters relating to children and young persons, including:

• institutions, places or areas where presence of children and young persons should be expected such as schools, youth clubs, parks, playgrounds and entertainment venues such as bowling allies, cinemas etc
• any premises where children congregate including bus stops, café’s, shops, and any other place where children are attracted
• areas that are prone to issues of youths participating in anti-social behaviour, including such activities as graffiti/tagging, underage drinking, etc
• recorded incidents of attempted underage gambling

7.5 A risk assessment should primarily concentrate on the steps and applicant or licence holder intends to take having had regard the licensing objectives. These should include:

• details of training policies and training undertaken by staff
• information of age verification procedure and how refusals to serve / admit on age grounds are recorded
• location of age restricted gaming machines
• keeping an ‘incident’ book and recording relevant incidents in or outside the premises, e.g. anti-social behaviour
• approach to managing self-exclusion
• involvement/impact of any work in local schemes or partnership working with other local businesses
• membership of Bexley Betwatch

The above list is not exhaustive it merely provided examples of matters that may be relevant to the promotion of the licensing objectives

7.6 The licensing authority expects a copy of the risk assessment to be held at each premises so that it can be inspected by officials and staff alike.

7.7 The Council has not undertaken any local area assessments. The local neighbourhood police team will be able to provide current information on any crime and disorder or anti-social behaviour issues occurring in the locality to an applicant or licensed premises holder.