DCMS has released the details of the Gambling Levy Programme Board, which will oversee the work of the commissioning bodies in their delivery and funding of gambling harm research, prevention and treatment measures across the country, as industry stakeholders await information on how existing charities and organisations will be funded.
DCMS has released the Terms of Reference for the Gambling Levy Programme Board, a committee of senior civil servants which will assess the work of commissioning bodies in researching, preventing and treating gambling-related harm using funds from the Mandatory Levy.
The ten-person board is formed of directors and heads of department from DCMS, HM Treasury, the Department of Health and Social Care, DSIT, and members of the Welsh and Scottish governments, and will be responsible for “assessing whether the system is delivering against objectives.”
“The Board has collective responsibility for monitoring the overall functioning and health of the levy system and the delivery of objectives and commissioning priorities in the distribution of the levy,” states the publication.
“It does not have responsibility for decisions on a detailed programme of expenditure which is a matter for the commissioning bodies DCMS has appointed.”
The board includes the director for Sport and Gambling, the deputy director for Gambling and Lotteries, the head of Sport and Gambling Analysis, and the head of Finance Business Partnering for Sport, Civil Society and Visitor Economy, as well as the head of Tobacco, Gambling, Diet and Healthy Weight Unit from the Scottish Government, and a representative of Wales’ Public Health Directorate.
One key voice absent from the list is that of the industry itself which, apart from providing the actual money itself, is also the only one that has a day to day engagement with the 48 percent of the UK population which gambles every month.
But the private schoolboys clearly know best. The members will meet once a quarter to consider evidence submitted by commissioning leads regarding general progress on spending and commissioning decisions, and to define clear objectives for the system.
Despite the announcement, no further information has been provided on when RPT organisations can expect to receive news on funding or the funding itself, with the NHS and commissioning bodies still yet to allocate the estimated £100m raised so far by the Mandatory Levy.
Given the shambles the transition away from the hapless GambleAware strangehold has causedd over the past year, it does seem that Gambling Levy Programme Board is going to have to fight hard to avoid becoming yet another cock-up quango.
