Ops Improvement Programme

Request

1. How many staff were employed by the Ops Improvement Programme?
2. Of these staff, how many were a) employees of the Gambling Commission and b) Agency staff or contractors?
3. What was the programme budget for 2024/25? What is the breakdown of spend in 2024/25 on staff and non-staff costs?
4. If the post of Executive Director Operations is vacant, who is the responsible executive for the programme as at today's date?
5. Has the Commission shared the aims of this programme with licensed operators? If not why not?

Response

Thank you for your request which has been processed under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

The Gambling Commission’s responses to your enquiries are as follows:

1. How many staff were employed by the Ops Improvement Programme?

A total of 11 individuals were directly engaged on the Ops Improvement Programme, as a mixture of employees of the Gambling Commission and agency staff.

2. Of these staff, how many were a) employees of the Gambling Commission and b) Agency staff or contractors?

A) Employees of the Gambling Commission - 5

B) Agency staff or contractors – 6

During this Programme one individual moved from being an agency staff member to an employee of the Gambling Commission. In the figures detailed above, they have only been included as a Gambling Commission employee.

3. What was the programme budget for 2024/25? What is the breakdown of spend in 2024/25 on staff and non-staff costs?

The programme did not have a stand-alone budget for 2024/25 as it was funded from the Commission’s overall Operations budget.

4. If the post of Executive Director Operations is vacant, who is the responsible executive for the programme as at today's date?

This Programme was formally closed in January 2025, as such there no responsible Executive Director.

5. Has the Commission shared the aims of this programme with licensed operators? If not, why not?

Yes, details of the work included in the programme was published as part of the Commission’s business plan for 2024/25.

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