Bacta’s historic decision to take National Council outside London for the first time has been declared a success by both the trade association and members who were invited to lunch and an Open Forum staged at the Marriot Hotel in Leeds on Thursday 18  April.

President John Bollom, who has been pioneering the move to make Bacta more accessible and open to members said: “The restructure of the trade association some 50-years after it was created had the primary objective of making Bacta more agile, more relevant, more engaged and as a consequence better equipped to represent the interests of its members.

“Taking National Council to Leeds has been a great initiative. We have welcomed over 30 members – and a number of non-members – eager to learn more about how Bacta operates and what we have on our agenda.

“The Open Forum was an opportunity to listen to the issues impacting members businesses and for us to update on key issues not least the procedure and timetable for implementation of the White Paper proposals.

“We were also able to update on our push for a review of stakes and prizes and the work that we are undertaking in partnership with the Bingo Association to modernise technical standards which have remained untouched for more than a decade.

“Part of the Bacta strategy is to increase the number of touchpoints that we have with our members and we will be looking to replicate initiatives such as this in other parts of the country.”

Georgia Jones of T&D Leisure Ltd who participated in the Open Forum added: “First of all I was surprised to learn that this was the first time that National Council has met outside London. Being able to discuss industry issues with National Council members face-to-face and in a relaxed environment was an important opportunity to learn more and to see how the new Bacta intends to connect with its members.”