Local area profile

Introduction

A local area profile is an assessment of the key characteristics of the local area in the context of gambling-related harm. This sits aside the Council’s Statement of Licensing Principles and provides information to assist applicants in gauging a better understanding of the types of people who are at risk of being vulnerable to gambling-related harm; where they are located and any current or emerging problems that may increase that risk.

The Licensing Authority Area and Demographics

Torbay covers an area of over 24 square miles and is situated on the South Devon coast, on the south west peninsular of England. Torbay is an outstanding coastal destination, including 22 miles of coastline, which has shaped the economic and social development of the area over time. Torbay was recognised as a Global Geopark in 2007. The Council area is mainly urban, comprising the three bay towns of Torquay, Paignton, and Brixham.

The three towns of Torbay and its environs have a combined population of around 134,000, which increases to well over 200,000 in the summer months. This makes Torbay the second largest conurbation to the south west of Bristol.

Tourism in Torbay today accounts for 1.45 million staying visitors plus 3.8-million-day visitors, generating a direct and indirect spend of £442 million per annum. This represents around one third of the area’s wealth and also one third of its jobs. Historically the local economy has focused on tourism, fishing and to a lesser extent manufacturing activities.

Torbay is developing a transformational £130 million Town Centre regeneration programme across the three Towns that make up the Authority area. This is underpinned through the Torbay Economic Strategy 2017 – 2022, which may be viewed on the Council website at: Torbay Economic Strategy.

Torbay is well situated with easy access to national and international markets through Exeter Airport (30 minutes), Bristol Airport (1 hour 30 minutes), the Sea Port at Plymouth (1 hour) and rail links to London Paddington (2 hours 30 minutes).

The Population of Torbay is expected to grow by around 9.6% over the next 20 years. The area has one of the highest proportions of over 65’s in the South west, which accounts for close to one quarter of the total population.

The Council’s Objectives

• Work towards a more prosperous Torbay
• Promote healthy lifestyles across Torbay
• Ensure that Torbay remains an attractive and safe place to live and visit
• Protect and support vulnerable adults
• Protect all children, giving them the best start in life

For more details, visit the Torbay Corporate Plan.

Introduction and Background

Gambling is a consistently popular activity in the UK. The latest data published by the Gambling Commission shows that 24.7 million adults participated in gambling in the last four weeks, which equates to 47% of UK adults. When National Lottery products are excluded, the Gambling Commission reports 32% of UK adults participate in other forms of gambling.

The most recent Health Survey data available for the whole of the UK (2016) found that some 1.2% of gamblers in England identified as problem gamblers, with a further 6.6% identified as being at low or moderate risk of developing problems with gambling. This is a significant percentage, and the data shows that there are approximately 340,000 problem gamblers in the UK.

The Council is the Licensing Authority under the Gambling Act 2005 and is responsible for issuing Premises Licences and Permits for gambling venues.

The Gambling Commission is responsible for regulating commercial gambling in Great Britain, in partnership with the Licensing Authority. They take responsibility for developing codes of practice and guidance, as well as issuing Operator and Personal Licences and controlling Remote Gambling and the National Lottery.

For more details, visit the Gambling Commission website.

The Gambling Commission publishes bi-annual statistics in May and November, which provides information on each industry sector. Statistics covering the period April 2019 to March 2020 show the total gross annual yield from gambling in Great Britain is £14.2 billion, of which £10.2 billion comprises a range of gambling activity (excluding lotteries).

The Licensing Authority has set out in its Statement of Principles 2022 – 2025 how it intends to carry out its functions under the Act. The Policy is reviewed and re-published every three years in accordance with regulations. The Policy can be viewed on the Council’s website.

In most cases, gambling is conducted responsibly in relation to both the industry operators and their customers alike. The Act has three objectives, which are aimed in tandem with Gambling Commission Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP) and Statutory Guidance, at ensuring that this remains the case:

• Preventing gambling from being a source of crime or disorder, being associated with crime or disorder, or being used to support crime.
• Ensuring that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way.
• Protecting children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling.

There is a legal duty bestowed upon the Licensing Authority to aim to permit gambling insofar as it is reasonably consistent with any relevant codes of practice, government guidance, the Licensing objectives, and the Licensing Authority’s own Policy.

While not a legal requirement, this Local Area Profile (LAP) is produced alongside the Policy to assist operators of gambling premises to assess local risk in accordance with the requirement that they produce a Local Area Risk Assessment. This document applies to all operators and is not specific to any one specific gambling business or type.

Vulnerability

Whilst the objectives of the Act are of equal importance, it is arguable that the protection of children and the vulnerable is more likely to differ by region or area and is not as easily recognisable as a potential problem. For this reason, this requires special attention.

A study entitled "Exploring area-based vulnerability to harm" concluded that young people, those affected by substance abuse, misuse, or excessive alcohol consumption, those with poorer mental health, certain ethnic groups, those with low IQ or personality and cognitive impairments, those seeking treatment for problem gambling, and the unemployed are all potentially more vulnerable to gambling-related harm.

In drafting their risk assessments, operators will therefore be expected to pay particular attention to the local area and highlight any concerns related to vulnerability along with appropriate control measures to mitigate their effect on the local community.

This Local Area Profile provides facts and figures and links to various documents and guidance to assist in that process.

Torbay Area Profile

According to the 2011 census, the population of Torbay is 130,959 (now closer to 134,000), as above stated, this increases to more than 200,000 in the summer months.

Of the regular population, the make-up is nearly 91% having been born in England and approximately 52% female and 48% male.

The spoken 'first' language is predominantly English at 97.8%, with Polish being the second highest spoken first language, albeit at only 0.7%.

The average age within Torbay is 44, which is significantly higher than the national average age of 39.3.

Some 23.5% of the regular population of Torbay are aged over 65 as compared to the national average of 16.4%.

18.9% of the population of Torbay are aged under 18, which means that approximately 106,208 people within Torbay are of legal age to gamble. Taking the national average as identified in the Health Survey for England in 2016, this means that approximately 58,400 (42%) people within Torbay would participate in some form of gambling other than the National Lottery.

Potentially linked to the higher average age of the area just over 76% of the population identify as being in good or very good health as opposed to circa 81% nationally.

The average Salary within Torbay is £25,400 per annum, this is against a national average of £35,400.

However, in the more deprived areas the average is significantly lower at around £18,000 per annum.

Some 19.5% of the population (against a national average of 13.5%) is identified as being on some form of benefit (including in work benefits), with 3.2% (national average 2.4%) being on incapacity benefits and 3.6% (national average 3.3%) on jobseekers’ allowance.

Again, from the 2011 census, the religious make up of Torbay is majority Christian at 63.3%, with no religion being listed next at 27%. The remaining 9.7% is made up as shown below:

Published indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) reported that in 2015 Torbay was the 46th (out of 326) most deprived local authority area in England.

The IMD is the standard measure used for deprivation statistics across the Country. Comparing Torbay to the most similar authority areas across the Country (the family group), Torbay ranks 2nd most deprived on a list of 15.

Torbay is divided into 15 ward areas.

The map below breaks down the ward areas by deprivation.

It is clear from the above map that there are vast differences across Torbay with a mixture of affluent and deprived areas being evident. The overall position of 46th nationally, however, places Torbay overall in the top 20% of the most deprived local authority areas.

When comparing Torbay to Devon and Cornwall as a whole, Torbay is the most deprived area of the 11 authorities.

Crime

Crime in Torbay, as gauged from the Police data at www.police.uk, is on the lower bound of average crime when compared with similar areas. Torbay has the 3rd lowest crime rate on a list of 15 identified areas that have been assessed for the purposes of crime data as being most similar to Torbay. The crime rate in Torbay for the year ending December 2020 was 77.26 crimes per 1000 population. This is below the group average of 92.84 crimes per 1000 population.

Whilst crime is generally lower than average for the type of area, certain areas within Torbay suffer from greater levels of crime than others. Operators are requested to consider whether the area in which their premises is situated is likely to be affected or to have an impact in this regard and to include any relevant factors in their risk assessments. The www.police.uk website contains an interactive map and statistic which will assist operators in assessing levels of crime in their immediate vicinity.

Existing Licensed Premises

Torbay is a resort town and, as such, it has a higher-than-average number of 'arcades'. These are a mix of Unlicensed Family Entertainment Centres (UFEC's), Family Entertainment Centres (FEC's), and Adult Gaming Centres (AGC's).

Bingo premises also number more than the average number for a licensing authority area as there are licences held by several holiday parks.

Overall, there are 51 licensed premises in Torbay. At the time of writing this local area profile, the following were licensed:

In addition to the above premises where there is a requirement to produce a local area risk assessment (in the case of UFEC’s only to be included in the assessment for a qualifying licensed premises, where they are linked to that premises, otherwise not required), Torbay has also granted the following licences and permits:

The Local Area Risk Assessment

The Local Area Risk Assessment is a new requirement of operators since April 2016, which requires that they produce and keep under review the document which will highlight any local risks that may be posed by gambling activity in the specific area and to develop and outline control measures that will mitigate any highlighted risk.

The requirement to produce a local Area Risk Assessment applies to any new or variation to a Premises Licence and/or where there is a significant change within the vicinity of any Premises or to the Premises itself.

Premises to which the requirement applies are:

• Adult Gaming Centres
• Family Entertainment Centres
• Betting Premises
• Bingo Premises
• Casinos

In addition, whilst not a requirement for Unlicensed Family Entertainment Centres (UFEC’s) it is stipulated in the Policy that where a UFEC is linked to one of the above premises types, the Risk Assessment for that premises will be expected to include the UFEC.

When completing their risk assessments, operators are requested to have regard to the above information and guidance, as well as the LCCP and any guidance issued by the Gambling Commission. Operators should consider the local area in relation to that information, using the area profile as guide for bespoke consideration relating to their own premises.

There are a range of characteristics of people who are theoretically at harm. These have been identified in a study conducted by Geofutures on behalf of Manchester and Westminster City Councils and include:

Demographic

• Youths
• Certain Ethnic Groups

Socio-Economic

• Unemployed
• Those living in deprived areas
• Those in financial difficulty or debt
• Those that are Homeless

Poor Judgement or Impairment

• Low IQ
• Those under influence of drugs, alcohol or substance misuse
• Learning difficulties

Other

• Poor Mental Health
• Problem Gamblers

Local Area Risk Assessment Criteria

As a minimum, the Local Area Risk Assessment should include:

• The location of premises or services provided for or frequented by children within the vicinity of the gambling premises, such as schools, parks, play areas, leisure or community centres etc.
• Where children may be admitted to part of the gambling premises, e.g., where an Adult Gaming Centre is situated near or in the same building as a UFEC.
• The location of health services, such as hospitals, surgeries or clinics, particularly where these relate to services for people with learning disabilities, drug, alcohol, gambling dependency or any other vulnerable group.
• Any unusual demographics of the area in relation to public profile, e.g., deprivation, age, crime, anti-social behaviour etc.
• Proximity to other gambling premises (of any type).
• Proximity to alcohol licensed premises.
• Relevant safeguarding factors.

Once identified, the Risk Assessment should highlight how any relevant persons may be protected and any mitigating measures that will be implemented.