Data Programme
Request
I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 regarding the Gambling Commission's Data Programme (under the Research and Policy Executive Director according to your published organisational structure).
Please provide the following information:
- A description of the programme's objectives, scope, and timeline.
- A copy of any project proposals, business cases, or strategy documents related to the programme.
- Details of any external suppliers or consultants involved, including contract values and durations.
- Information on the types of data being collected, processed, or shared as part of the programme.
- Copies of Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) or similar assessments conducted in relation to the programme.
- Any data-sharing agreements or memoranda of understanding with third parties.
- Governance or oversight arrangements for the programme, including the names of responsible teams or individuals.
- Any internal or external audits or evaluations carried out on the programme since its inception.
- Budget allocations and expenditures to date.
- Any correspondence (emails, meeting notes, or memos) referencing concerns, risks, or complaints about the programme.
Response
Thank you for your request which has been processed under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
In your email you have requested information regarding the Gambling Commission's Data Programme. Specifically, the following information:
- A description of the programme's objectives, scope, and timeline.
- A copy of any project proposals, business cases, or strategy documents related to the programme.
- Details of any external suppliers or consultants involved, including contract values and durations.
- Information on the types of data being collected, processed, or shared as part of the programme.
- Copies of Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) or similar assessments conducted in relation to the programme.
- Any data-sharing agreements or memoranda of understanding with third parties.
- Governance or oversight arrangements for the programme, including the names of responsible teams or individuals.
- Any internal or external audits or evaluations carried out on the programme since its inception.
- Budget allocations and expenditures to date.
- Any correspondence (emails, meeting notes, or memos) referencing concerns, risks, or complaints about the programme.’
I can confirm that some information falling with the scope of each element of your request is held by the Gambling Commission. However, this information is stored in multiple locations across the organisation and is not stored in an easily extracable format. This information would need to be manually reviewed in order to retrieve the relevant to your request.
Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) makes provision for public authorities to refuse requests for information where the cost of dealing with them would exceed the appropriate limit, which for public authorities, such as the Commission, is set at £450. This represents the estimated cost of one person spending 18 hours in determining whether the department holds the information, locating, retrieving and extracting the information.
As mentioned, in order to identify, locate and retrieve the information requested, we conducted a search which returned a large amount of information. In order to identify whether we hold any information falling within the scope of your request we would need to review all of this information to assess if they were relevant to your request, and therefore we estimate that it would take in excess of 18 hours to determine appropriate material and retrieve and extract any relevant information in reference to your request.
When a public authority applies the Section 12 exemption to a request, the FOIA guidance specifically states that a public authority should avoid providing any information found as a result of a search as it denies the requestor the right to express a preference as to which parts of the request they may wish to receive within the appropriate time limit.
However, there may be some information available on the Gambling Commission website which is of interest to you:
Business plan and budget 2025 to 2026
Corporate Strategy 2024 to 2027
Guidance on the application of section 12 can be viewed here: Requests where the cost of compliance exceeds the appropriate limit (section 12) | ICO.
If you are able to refine your request, we may be able to narrow the number of records that we need to search. However, as the information is in the format of daily reports, it is unlikely that this information can be retrieved and compiled to produce daily figures that are accurate within the appropriate limit.
Until we are able to process the search of the information you have requested, we are unable to ascertain if other exemptions will apply to any material identified which would also prevent disclosure.
Please note, any refined request would be processed as a new request and the 20 working day statutory time limit would apply.
Review of the decision
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your Freedom of Information request you are entitled to an internal review of our decision. You should write to FOI Team, Gambling Commission, 4th floor, Victoria Square House, Victoria Square, Birmingham, B2 4BP or by reply to this email.
Please note, internal review requests should be made within 40 working days of the initial response. Requests made outside this timeframe will not be processed.
If you are not content with the outcome of our review, you may then apply directly to the Information Commissioner (ICO) for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have already exhausted the review procedure provided by the Gambling Commission.
It should be noted that if you wish to raise a complaint with the ICO about the Commission’s handling of your request for information, then you are required to do so within six weeks of receiving your final response or last substantive contact with us.
The ICO can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office (opens in new tab), Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.
Information Management Team
Gambling Commission