The Telegraph & Argus has campaigned against the proliferation of betting shops on the district’s High Street.

So the Government’s statement that it is prepared to bring in new laws to clamp down on planning restrictions relating to bookies is very welcome.

But there are fears that any changes may not go far enough, particularly in the light of a recent report by Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee.

That contained a recommendation that bookmakers should be allowed to have more than the current restriction of four high-stake gambling machines in each premises.

That restriction on these machines, described recently as the ‘crack cocaine’ of gambling with £392m shoved into them in this district alone, seems to be one of the main factors in the increasing number of betting shops seen in town and city centres.

Relaxing that may in theory slow down the expansion in terms of new openings, but it also may simply make the social problem more concentrated in the existing shops, and it is certainly unlikely to reduce the amount being gambled.

In which case, the real problem – the amount being gambled by those who cannot afford it – will not necessarily be addressed by new planning restrictions.

Any action the Government takes needs to get to the root of the issue, which is the seemingly ever-increasing amount of money being gambled, particularly in these high-stakes machines, by those who can least afford it.

Yes, let’s see stronger planning powers for councils in relation to betting shops brought in. But it is vital that such a move is not diluted – indeed, virtually negated – by relaxing the existing restrictions on high-stakes gaming machines.