Public should be more involved in casino decision - Foster

3.27.14pm UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 31st Aug 2006

At the end of the Casino Advisory Panel's first day of so-called 'Examinations-in-Public', Liberal Democrat Shadow Culture, Media, and Sport Secretary, Don Foster has called on the panel to require each short listed council to carry out public opinion research before a final decision is made.

He said:

"Politicians and journalists have had plenty to say about the location of new casinos. However, the people most affected, those who will have to live and work near any new casino, have hardly been heard.

"In Brent, where the council did gauge public opinion, the result led to their bid being withdrawn.

"The panel may be called an 'Examination-in-Public', but that is not the same as an examination held by, and for, the public.

"Only this morning on the Today Programme, the Chairman of the panel said it was right his team should 'try to assess public opinion'. Yet the current process gives people almost no opportunity to have their say before a decision is made."