UKGC Stonewall Funding Status Unclear for 2024/25
FOI reveals past payments but no recorded plans for the current year, indicating a potential change in the regulator's external partnerships.
A Freedom of Information request has revealed the UK Gambling Commission paid Stonewall a total of £6,600 over the last two financial years. However, the regulator stated it holds 'no recorded information' about planned payments for 2024/25, raising questions about its future involvement in the Diversity Champions programme.
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A Freedom of Information (FOI) disclosure has revealed that the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) holds no recorded plans for payments to the LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall for the 2024/25 financial year.
The response, published following a request made on 22 April 2024, provides insight into the regulator's spending on external diversity and inclusion programmes.
Context: Transparency in Regulatory Spending
As the UK's gambling regulator, the UKGC is a public body funded primarily through licence fees paid by gambling operators. How it allocates its budget, including payments to third-party organisations like Stonewall, is a matter of public interest. FOI requests provide a crucial mechanism for consumers and industry observers to understand the regulator's priorities and ensure transparency in its operations.
Details of the Disclosure
The FOI request asked for details of all payments made to Stonewall Equality Limited for the financial years 2022/23 and 2023/24, as well as any expected payments for the current financial year (2024/25).
In its response, the UKGC noted that information on past payments was already publicly available and pointed to a previous disclosure. That data confirms the following payments were made for membership of the Stonewall Diversity Champions Programme:
- Financial Year 2022/23: £3,000
- Financial Year 2023/24: £3,600
For the third part of the request, concerning expected payments in the current financial year, the Commission's response was definitive.
"I can confirm that no recorded information falling within the scope of part three of your request is held by the Commission."
This statement means that at the time of the request, the UKGC had no formal, recorded plans, budgets, or commitments to make any payments to Stonewall in 2024/25.
Significance: A Potential Shift in Policy
The disclosure of £6,600 in payments over the previous two years confirms the UKGC's recent financial relationship with Stonewall. However, the statement that no information is held regarding future payments is the most significant takeaway.
This does not definitively mean no payment will be made, but it indicates that a renewal of its membership in the Diversity Champions programme was not a recorded commitment as of late April 2024. This could signal a review or a change in the regulator's policy regarding such partnerships, a trend seen across various UK public sector bodies in recent years.
For consumers, this information provides a transparent look at how the gambling regulator engages with external organisations on matters of social responsibility and workplace culture. The lack of a recorded future commitment will be a point of interest for those monitoring the operational and corporate governance of the UKGC.