Report
Annual report and accounts 2024 to 2025
The Gambling Commission's 2024 to 2025 annual report and accounts. For the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.
Contents
- Foreword
- Performance report
- Accountability report
- Financial statements
- Notes on the accounts
-
- Statement of accounting policies
- Statement of operating costs by operating segment
- Expenditure
- Income cash receipts
- Property, plant and equipment
- Right of use assets
- Intangible assets
- Financial instruments
- Cash and cash equivalents
- Trade and other receivables
- Trade and other payables
- Provisions and charges
- Retirement benefit obligations
- Lease liabilities
- Contingent liabilities disclosed under IAS 37
- Related party transactions
- Amounts of income to the Consolidated Fund
- Events after the reporting period
- Appendices
Commission greening commitments
Overview
The Gambling Commission utilise a rented private building that has a multi-tenancy occupancy which makes management of energy consumption difficult and closely linked to the building usage. The building is also not Public Sector owned so adjusting the building parameters requires consultation and Landlord approval.
Adapting to climate change
We are at an early stage in understanding and preparing a plan for the risk of climate change to our operations. This will be developed to work towards meeting our Greening Commitments. The Commission expects to achieve its commitments before the government target date.
We are committed to reducing our overall Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, using the 2017 to 2018 financial year as our baseline. This aligns with the UK Government’s Greening Government commitments (GGCs, which set targets for reducing both total and direct GHG emissions from departmental estates and operations. Our targets follow the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) sustainability reporting guidelines and remain consistent with those used in previous years.
This is primarily made up of 2 sub-targets:
Meet the Government Fleet Commitment for 25 per cent of the Government car fleet to be ULEV by 31 December 2022, and 100 percent of the Government car and van fleet to be fully zero emission at the tailpipe by 31 December 2027.
The Commission does not own any vehicles, so we have no target to reach.
Reduce the emissions from domestic business flights by at least 30 percent from a 2017 to 2018 baseline and report the distance travelled by international business flights, with a view to better understanding and reducing related emissions where possible.
Travel costs and our emissions output have increased as the Commission is growing from a small base. Travel policies will be reviewed during 2024 to 2025 to compensate for emissions so that they require lower carbon options to be considered first as an alternative to each planned flight.
Travel emissions performance narrative
In 2024 to 25, total travel-related emissions (Scope 3) increased to 63.25 tCO₂e, up from 40.89 tonne of Carbon Dioxide equivalents (tCO₂e) in 2023 to 2024. Despite this year-on-year rise, emissions remain significantly lower than the 2017 to 2018 baseline of 132.22 tCO₂e, reflecting a sustained reduction of over 50 percent.
The following table shows our progress since that baseline year.
Overall emission reduction and/or increase - Total travel
The Commission's 2017 to 2018 baseline: minus 53 percent.
Government's target 2017 to 2018 baseline: minus 30 percent.
| Travel type | 2024 to 2025 | 2023 to 2024 | Baseline 2017 to 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passenger vehicles - cars | |||
| Kilometres (km) | 44,690 | 47,510 | 276,376 |
| Cost | £12,496 | £13,285 | £77,279 |
| tCO2e | 7.35 | 7.79 | 51.32 |
| Number of trips | 545 | 468 | 523 |
| Other domestic rail | |||
| Kilometres (km) | 253,714 | 265,752 | 657,442 |
| Cost | £84,659 | £85,896 | £196,303 |
| tCO2e | 9.00 | 9.42 | 31.03 |
| Number of trips | 1,235 | 1,263 | 3,660 |
| Other domestic flight | |||
| Kilometres (km) | 11,268 | 9,179 | 50,420 |
| Cost | £2,443 | £1,575 | £12,173 |
| tCO2e | 1.47 | 1.19 | 13.31 |
| Number of trips | 15 | 13 | 69 |
| Other short haul flight (economy) | |||
| Kilometres (km) | 94,330 | 77,449 | 66,671 |
| Cost | £11,127 | £8,403 | £8,866 |
| tCO2e | 10.18 | 8.36 | 10.95 |
| Number of trips | 40 | 25 | 42 | Other short haul flight (business) |
| Kilometres (km) | 2,546 | 103,129 | 0 |
| Cost | £335 | £33,596 | £0 |
| tCO2e | 0.27 | 11.13 | 0.00 |
| Number of trips | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| Other international long haul travel | |||
| Kilometres (km) | 151,772 | 15,839 | 133,157 |
| Cost | £33,121 | £4,589 | £7,195 |
| tCO2e | 34.98 | 2.99 | 25.61 |
| Number of trips | 10 | 2 | 6 |
| Total travel | |||
| Kilometres (km) | 558,320 | 518,859 | 1,184,066 |
| Cost | £144,181 | £147,345 | £301,816 |
| tCO2e | 63.25 | 40.89 | 132.22 |
| Number of trips | 1,846 | 1,777 | 4,300 |
Mitigating climate change: working towards Net Zero by 2050
The Commission are focused on our continued use of renewable energy and have liaised with the landlord to ensure that all the energy used within our building is sourced from renewable sources and that our waste is either recycled or utilised to create energy.
We are focused on minimising our CO2 footprint through initiatives around use of vehicles and travel along with a focus to minimise our annual footprint through means of reducing waste and energy consumption across the wider Commission.
Minimising waste and promoting resource efficiency
Data on waste is collated (in line with Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate (SOGE) targets for all offices and land owned and/or occupied by the Commission and covers:
- waste to landfill (residual office waste)
- waste reused and/or recycled (paper, aluminium cans and glass)
- waste incinerated
- hazardous waste.
Waste minimisation and management and finite resource consumption
| Type | 2024 to 2025 | 2023 to 2024 | Baseline 2017 to 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waste Refuse and paper - (reused and/or recycled) | |||
| tCO2e | 5.35 | 5.31 | 4.13 |
| Cost | £2,662 | £2,212 | £1,352 |
| per full time equivalent staffing | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | Waste Refuse and paper - (incinerated with energy recovery) |
| tCO2e | 12.93 | 12.79 | 14.64 |
| Cost | £1,275 | £1,262 | £380 |
| per full time equivalent staffing | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.05 |
Waste increased in 2024 to 2025; this was primarily due to greater office occupancy and increased headcount.
Landfill - The target has been achieved. 0 percent of our waste goes to a landfill. Landfill delivery is managed by our landlord, however through consultation we have managed to secure sustainability in our energy supply. Whatever is not recycled is incinerated and used to produce energy.
Recycling - There has been a slight increase in reused and/or recycled waste but also a slight increase in incinerated waste. It is worth noting all the remainder is processed into energy; we have also seen a steady decrease in overall waste produced per employee as part of our efforts to reduce waste.
Single-use consumer plastics are not utilised within the Commission. We do not produce food or food waste, nor do we require single use plastics in any part of our operations. We provide staff with washable cutlery, glasses, and cups. We are currently aligned with the commitment to eliminate all single use consumer plastics. We will investigate in future further methods to discourage staff from utilising single use plastics for their own food.
Paper consumption
| Type | 2024 to 2025 | 2023 to 2024 | Baseline 2017 to 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|
| A4 paper (reams) | |||
| Reams | 177 | 143 | 1,300 |
| Cost | £709 | £657 | £3,271 |
| per Full Time Equivalent staffing | 0.43 | 0.37 | 4.04 | A3 paper (reams) |
| Reams | 5 | 5 | 40 |
| Cost | £45 | £45 | £198 |
| per Full Time Equivalent staffing | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.12 |
Reducing our water use
The Commission is committed to reducing water consumption across our operations. The Commission’s water usage has increased by 158m3 year on year or 6.4 percent; this is due to greater office occupancy, which has increased by 11.5 percent year on year.
When adjusted for this increase in occupancy and usage levels, our water use per capita has decreased by 4.6 percent, demonstrating a gradual improvement in water efficiency. This reflects the effectiveness of ongoing initiatives aimed at promoting responsible water use across our organisation, despite the pressure of higher operational demand.
Whilst progress has been steady, we feel optimistic about getting closer to the government’s target of 8 percent within the next reportable period.
Reducing water usage
| Type | 2024 to 2025 | 2023 to 2024 | Baseline 2017 to 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water consumption (m3) | 2,604 | 2,446 | 2,067 |
| Water supply costs (office estate) (£) | £5,036 | £4,098 | not applicable |
| per full time equivalent staffing | 6.26 | 6.40 | 6.42 |
While we do not have a formal organisational water policy, our water use is managed within the context of being a tenant in a landlord owned building. As such, our direct control over water infrastructure and broader consumption policies is limited. However, we actively promote responsible water use among our staff and visitors and work closely with the buildings facilities management team to support efficiency measures where possible.
We have effective systems for responsible consumption, leak detection and are looking to introduce staff training on water efficiency as part of our web learning development courses. We have also started exploring indirect water usage across our wider procurement process, working closely with suppliers to understand and reduce water use across the value chain. We have interrogated water policies for suppliers such as cleaning services to ensure they are reflective of our goals.
While we currently do not conduct formal water footprint assessments. As part of our procurement process, we are working to embed broader sustainability principles into purchasing decisions. As part of this we are engaging with suppliers to understand their environmental practices, and we aim to include sustainable criteria-including water considerations, as part of future procurement exercises where relevant.
Reducing environmental impacts from Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Digital
The Commission continuously leverages technology to reduce our overall environmental impact. Initiatives include replacing desk phones with softphones (software for making telephone calls over the internet) and promoting the use of softphones over mobile phones to further reduce our physical impact and footprint. Additionally, improvements to our videoconferencing capabilities support effective hybrid working, thereby minimising the need for travel. All end user equipment is configured with automated sleep timers, and only energy efficient monitors are used. We recycle all ICT plastics, such as toner and ink cartridges, for reuse. More broadly, sustainable ICT solutions are being integrated into the Commission as a standard practice through sustainable procurement, design, implementation, and asset management.
Nature Recovery and biodiversity action planning
The Commission does not own or manage any natural lands or green areas – we are located on the fourth floor of an office building with no access to roofs and/or gardens and so on, so we are limited in what we are able to do regarding improving natural assets.
Procuring sustainable products and services
In relation to sustainable procurement, we follow Crown Commercial Services (CCS) guidelines which are detailed as follows:
“We follow the Government Buying Standards which set out mandatory minimum standards for goods and services such as paper, office equipment, ICT, cleaning products, furniture, construction and fleet. Our product expertise helps us keep pace with other international standard setting bodies, and where these are more appropriate to consult to ensure we give you access to the best sustainable solutions possible, we do so.”
Government buying standards are adhered to at each procurement level within the Commission.
The National Procurement Statement was published in February 2025 and any procurements we run post this date will comply with this. We are currently almost exclusively using CCS frameworks, and this data is often captured as part of suppliers’ returns to CCS as part of being on that framework.
The Commission will be benchmarking our commercial function against the Government Commercial Functional Standard (Functional Standard 08) this year to benchmark against similar sized organisations and establish areas we need to improve.
Andrew Rhodes Chief Executive and Accounting Officer, 17 July 2024
Last updated: 15 October 2025
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