101 backbench MPs may have signed a Commons motion calling for a rethink of the Casino Advisory Panel’s choice of Manchester, and Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott may have added his considerable weight to the Blackpool campaign, but the Culture Secretary is backing Manchester as the site for Britain’s first super casino. Tessa Jowell is to ask Parliament to approve the panel’s recommendations for casino licences for the regional casino and 16 others.

Manchester may have been a surprise choice of location and the money had been on Blackpool and Greenwich from the start of the whole selection process. However, the Casino Advisory Panel followed its instructions to choose the site that would best test the social impact of a large scale casino with over 1,000 slot machines. Since the decision was announced on 31January, many have been attempting to persuade Tessa Jowell to further investigate the Panel’s decision.

The final report of the Casino Advisory Panel points out that the primary consideration set by DCMS was to ensure that locations provided the best possible test of social impact. Subject to that, the criteria were also: to include areas in need of regeneration (as measured by employment and other social deprivation data) and which were likely to benefit in those terms from a new casino; and to ensure that those areas selected were willing to license a new casino.

“We do not think Blackpool’s proposal would represent the best test of social impact for the regional casino because most of the social effects would be exported. While it is clear that Blackpool is in need of regeneration, in our view the regeneration benefits of the proposal before us are unproven and more limited geographically than other proposals.

“In every respect we are extremely impressed by Manchester’s proposal, which offers great promise. We found that the proposal had a unique formula to offer which served to set it apart from the others presented to us in terms of the full range of our specific remitted criteria of best test of social impact, regeneration need and benefits and willingness to license. Manchester represents a good place to test social impact, and the council's consultations with other local authorities and relevant bodies gave us confidence on that."

It is now up to Parliament to vote on the Casino Advisory Panel’s findings. Before that debates on the issue are likely to be heated and even if the recommendation does receive approval in the Commons, the House of Lords may still block it. Tessa Jowell is standing firm and has not considered convening a Select Committee to reconsider the merits of the various locations. She believes that the Panel acted with rigour and integrity in accordance with its terms of reference. A vote in Parliament will take place later this month. (E-03.01.07)

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