asked Her Majesty's Government:
Why it was necessary for Mr Derek Aldridge of the Gaming Board to be present at a meeting of Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Department for Culture, Media and Sport officials on 12 September 2003 at which plans for a “high profit casino” at the Millennium Dome were discussed. [HL1627]
Derek Aldridge was a member of the Gaming Board secretariat which administered applications for certificates of consent under the Gaming Act 1968. It was entirely proper for him to answer factual questions on the process and timetable in respect of a pending application for a certificate of consent. These questions were relevant to the Dome Sale Unit's ongoing risk appraisal of the Dome sale.
asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will place in the Library of the House broad details of what the Gaming Board had scrutinised in relation to Mr Sol Kerzner's application for a casino licence, as agreed by Mr Derek Aldridge of the Gaming Board at his meeting with Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Department for Culture, Media and Sport officials on 12 September 2003. [HL1628]
The application by Kerzner Northampton Ltd was subject to the same level of scrutiny and investigation as any other certificate of consent application. This would have included detailed inquiries into the probity, integrity and financial standing of the applicants.
Broad details of what inquiries are made in respect of applications for certificates of consent, along with the relevant application and declaration forms, are available on the Gambling Commission website (www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk). I am arranging for copies of these to be placed in the Library of the House.
The Gaming Board's successor body the Gambling Commission has confirmed that it has no record of any specific information relating to the application from Kerzner Northampton Ltd being made available to officials from either the Department for Culture, Media and Sport or the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
asked Her Majesty's Government:
In connection with the application by Kerzner International for a casino licence in Northampton which was approved by the Gaming Board on 30 March 2004, whether any disclosures were made by Mr Sol Kerzner, Mr Jerry Horsea or Mr Tobin Prior of findings of guilt, including juvenile convictions, formal police reprimands, warnings and cautions no matter how long ago; and in checking the probity of Mr Sol Kerzner, how the Gaming Board investigated his alleged payment to the Prime Minister of Transkei. [HL1629]
The application satisfied the requirements of the Gaming Board in terms of personal information provided. It was subject to the same level of scrutiny and investigation as other certificate of consent applications. The Gaming Board's successor body the Gambling Commission has confirmed that it is unable to make public any personal details that have been provided to it as part of the licensing process.