UKGC Refuses Data on Staff Working Abroad
Regulator cites excessive cost to retrieve information on employees' overseas work arrangements, raising questions about internal record-keeping.
A Freedom of Information request has revealed the UK Gambling Commission cannot easily provide data on its staff working abroad. The regulator refused the request, citing that the cost and time required to compile the non-centralised information would exceed legal limits.
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UKGC Cites Excessive Cost in Refusing Overseas Staff Data Request
A Freedom of Information (FOI) request has revealed that the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) is unable to provide basic data on its staff working from abroad, stating that the cost of retrieving the information would be too high.
The response, published following a request dated 23 August 2023, highlights a lack of centralised record-keeping for a key aspect of the regulator's modern workforce management.
What Was Requested?
The information request sought to understand the extent of overseas working arrangements for UKGC employees. It asked for specific details for the financial years 2020/21, 2021/22, and 2022/23, including:
- The number of staff permitted to work from abroad each year.
- For each case: the employee's pay band, the country they worked from, the duration, specific dates, and the reason for the arrangement.
The Commission's Response: Information Withheld
The UKGC confirmed that it holds the requested information but refused to provide it. The regulator invoked Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, which allows public bodies to deny requests if the cost of compliance exceeds an 'appropriate limit'.
For central government bodies like the Commission, this limit is set at £450, which is estimated to be the cost of one person spending 18 hours on the task.
In its explanation, the UKGC stated: "this information is not stored in a central location. As such, in order to extract the requested information, we would be required to review information from current and previous reporting managers."
The Commission estimated that reviewing the high volume of individual records would take "in excess of 18 hours," thereby exceeding the cost limit.
Why This Matters for Consumers and the Industry
The UKGC is the public body responsible for regulating the multi-billion-pound gambling industry in Great Britain, with a core mission to protect consumers and ensure fairness. Its operational efficiency and transparency are fundamental to maintaining public trust.
This refusal to provide data on its own staffing arrangements raises questions about the regulator's internal data management and administrative oversight. While remote and international working has become more common, the inability to easily track and report on such arrangements for a key public body is significant.
For consumers, the effectiveness of the regulator is paramount. Any indication of administrative inefficiencies could lead to concerns about the organisation's ability to manage its primary regulatory duties. The response suggests that basic human resources data, which many organisations track as standard, is not readily accessible within the UKGC.
The Commission did note that the requester could submit a narrower request, which it might be able to answer within the time limit, but this does not change the fact that the data is not centrally compiled.