Asked by: Gareth Bacon (Conservative - Orpington)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the contribution of the betting and gaming industry to the economy.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Official statistics from a range of sources provide the Government with insights into the economic contribution of the betting and gaming industry, including estimates for gross value added (GVA), employment generated and tax revenue raised.
The latest headline statistics show that the gambling sector contributed £4.9bn to GVA in 2022, accounting for 0.2% of UK GVA. In the financial year 2023/24, the gambling sector employed around 94,000 people in Britain (provisional), accounting for 0.2% of UK jobs and paid approximately £3.4bn in betting and gaming duty.
Asked by: Gareth Bacon (Conservative - Orpington)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of increasing gambling taxes on employment in (a) high street bookmakers, (b) high street adult gaming centres and (c) bingo halls.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government will consult next year on proposals to bring remote gambling (meaning gambling offered over the internet, telephone, TV and radio) into a single tax, rather than taxing it through a three-tax structure. This will aim to simplify, future-proof and close loopholes in the system.
Asked by: Gareth Bacon (Conservative - Orpington)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what modelling her Department has done to assess the potential impact of an increase in machine gaming duty on bingo halls.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government will consult next year on proposals to bring remote gambling (meaning gambling offered over the internet, telephone, TV and radio) into a single tax, rather than taxing it through a three-tax structure. This will aim to simplify, future-proof and close loopholes in the system.
Asked by: Gareth Bacon (Conservative - Orpington)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of changes in the level of machine gaming duty on high streets.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government will consult next year on proposals to bring remote gambling (meaning gambling offered over the internet, telephone, TV and radio) into a single tax, rather than taxing it through a three-tax structure. This will aim to simplify, future-proof and close loopholes in the system.
Asked by: Gareth Bacon (Conservative - Orpington)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an estimate of the impact of the land-based gambling industry on the economy.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Our gambling white paper set out the government’s plans for modernising the regulation of gambling in Great Britain. This included a number of measures to adjust outdated and overly restrictive rules to enable the land-based sectors to thrive sustainably. We recognise their contribution to the economy, including provision of employment in coastal towns and across the country.
We are working with the Gambling Commission to bring key measures, including those relating to gaming machines in casinos, arcades and bingo halls, into force as soon as possible. We will consult on details required for implementation this summer. Since publishing the white paper, ministers and officials have engaged with industry representatives across the land-based sector, including the Betting and Gaming Council, British Amusement Catering Trade Association and the Bingo Association.
Asked by: Gareth Bacon (Conservative - Orpington)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Gambling White paper entitled High stakes: gambling reform for the digital age, published on 27 April 2023, what her timeline is for publishing the findings of consultations on that White Paper.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Our gambling white paper set out a range of proportionate measures to tackle practices and products which can drive harm and ensure that people who are at risk of gambling harm and addiction are protected. These include new player protection checks, a stake limit for online slots games, improvements to consumer redress and a statutory levy on operators to fund research, education and treatment.
We are working with the Gambling Commission and other stakeholders to bring these measures into force as soon as possible, subject to further consultation where appropriate. The Government will publish a number of targeted consultations this summer, with the Commission also consulting on a number of priority areas, and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Gareth Bacon (Conservative - Orpington)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Gambling White Paper entitled High stakes: gambling reform for the digital age, published in April 2023, what steps her Department is taking to engage with the land-based gambling industry following the publication of the White Paper.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Our gambling white paper set out the government’s plans for modernising the regulation of gambling in Great Britain. This included a number of measures to adjust outdated and overly restrictive rules to enable the land-based sectors to thrive sustainably. We recognise their contribution to the economy, including provision of employment in coastal towns and across the country.
We are working with the Gambling Commission to bring key measures, including those relating to gaming machines in casinos, arcades and bingo halls, into force as soon as possible. We will consult on details required for implementation this summer. Since publishing the white paper, ministers and officials have engaged with industry representatives across the land-based sector, including the Betting and Gaming Council, British Amusement Catering Trade Association and the Bingo Association.
Asked by: Gareth Bacon (Conservative - Orpington)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department is taking steps to support the land-based gambling industry.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Our gambling white paper set out the government’s plans for modernising the regulation of gambling in Great Britain. This included a number of measures to adjust outdated and overly restrictive rules to enable the land-based sectors to thrive sustainably. We recognise their contribution to the economy, including provision of employment in coastal towns and across the country.
We are working with the Gambling Commission to bring key measures, including those relating to gaming machines in casinos, arcades and bingo halls, into force as soon as possible. We will consult on details required for implementation this summer. Since publishing the white paper, ministers and officials have engaged with industry representatives across the land-based sector, including the Betting and Gaming Council, British Amusement Catering Trade Association and the Bingo Association.
Asked by: Gareth Bacon (Conservative - Orpington)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will provide a list of (a) professional staff networks and (b) social clubs operating within his Department; and if she will provide the (i) budgets and (ii) FTE staff time allocated to each group within each of the last three years.
Answered by Julia Lopez
(a) DCMS has the following staff networks:
Ability Network (Beyond Disability)
Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Network
Carers Network
Direct Appointee Network
EU Nationals Network
Faith and Belief Network
Fair Treatment Ambassadors
Flexible Working and Job Share Network
Gender Equality Network
Grade B Network (HEO / SEO Grade equivalent)
Grade C&D Network (AO & EO Grade equivalent)
Green Network
Ideas Panel Network
LGBT+ Network
Mental Health and Wellbeing Network
New Joiner Network
North Network
Parenting Network Group
Social Mobility Network
South West Network
Volunteering Network
(b) The Sports and Social Network is a Network for all staff to access and organise sport and social activity in DCMS. The social clubs that currently operate within this network include:
Choir
Football teams:
London Men’s team
London Women's team
Manchester team
Netball
Film Club
Book Club
Bake Club
Board Games
Meditation Club
(i) Budgets allocated to each group within each of the last three years
The annual budget allocated to all network activity is £10,000. This has been the same for the past three years. Networks are able to access funding on a case by case basis for events or training.
(ii) FTE staff time allocated to each group within each of the last three years
FTE staff are not allocated to networks, the role of network chair is a voluntary role and as such the time they allocate to each network is not recorded or reported upon. As part of the DCMS ‘business deal’ for network chairs, in agreement with line management and subject to business need, 10% of the network chair’s working hours can be allocated to network activity increasing to up to 20% in periods of high demand.