Categories of Casino Regulations 2008

My Lords, I shall be brief. I apologise that I arrived late. Unfortunately, I had been led to believe that the debate would start somewhat later and therefore I apologise to the House. I have just three or four points to make. I have never gambled and I loathe gambling. When I was chairman of the planning committee in the city of Leeds many years ago, throughout the duration of my office I never gave approval for any gambling outlet. Times have moved on and there is now all-party support in Leeds for the large casino that is the subject of this instrument, along with others. On the question of regional casinos—in a sense, the dog that does not bark today but has barked although it is not here—I feel that Manchester was very shabbily treated, in part by your Lordships’ House. It was this House which effectively spelled doom for Manchester, not because of the desire not to have one in Manchester but rather the desire to push the case for Blackpool and so on. That is not a good way to take decisions. Rather than get on our high horse and blame the Government, we should examine our own selves on occasions. I hope Manchester is able to come back at some point. A great deal has been said about destination gambling and regeneration. I firmly believe that gambling, as part of a major entertainment industry, is entirely capable, as the noble Lord, Lord McNally, said eloquently, of providing the basis for a major entertainment centre that includes cinemas and concert halls, with retail and restaurants and so on to support it. Your Lordships’ Merits of Statutory Instruments Committee, while quoting other research and by implication supporting that research, itself seemed to be very confused on the whole question of the best location for casinos. The idea that casinos should not be in urban areas—one could almost draw that conclusion—seems absolute madness. Blackpool would be an urban area in any case, and Manchester and Leeds certainly are. Whether they should be in a city centre or outside depends entirely on the nature of the urban area. To have a prescriptive view, as your Lordships’ Merits of Statutory Instruments Committee almost appeared to, seems inappropriate. The committee twice referred to the fact that the large casino in Leeds would be in the city centre. That decision has not been made and the city council asked me to bring that to the attention of the House. Whether or not the casino is in the city centre seems to me to be entirely a question of what is an appropriate location to have genuinely regenerative and developmental effects. That should be the criterion, not sitting in committees arguing about the fine points of different principles to apply. Despite my opposition to gambling in any form, we are where we are now. I regret that Manchester has been badly let down and I hope that it is able to come forward again. I hope the Minister is able to give some reassurance that as and when a major proposal for regional casinos comes forward in future, this will be looked at in a way that gives Manchester a fair crack of the whip. Meanwhile, I shall certainly support these instruments.