OHID to serve as Prevention Commissioner of new RET Levy system

The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) takes role of RET Levy Prevention Commissioner as system demands a measurable understanding of harms…

DCMS has confirmed the appointment of the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) to serve in the role of “Prevention Commissioner” of a new structure on gambling harms prevention overseen by the NHS. The appointment was confirmed to Commons by DCMS Minister for Sports and Media, Stephanie Peacock.

An agency of the Department of Health and Social Care, OHID was formed in 2021 to replace Public Health England (PHE), a unit disbanded by the Conservative government’s reorganisation of public health and social care.

A policy advisor to the government, OHID was created to improve efficiencies for the health system of England, by preventing disparities in healthcare and reducing inequalities in the access to treatment.

New RET Levy ready for April

The appointment of OHID is noted as the final body needed for the NHS to bring forward the new design of the Statutory Levy on problem gambling research, education and treatment (RET), scheduled to launch in April 2025.

The RET Levy guarantees an annual funding of “+£100m dedicated to the treatment, prevention and research of problem gambling harms across UK communities.” Its structure will impose a mandatory “1.1% fee on the gross gaming yield (GGY) of UK-licensed online gambling operators and software suppliers.”

“To ensure that there is sufficient trust, expertise and authority in the use of the levy funding for prevention,” Peacock told Commons.

“I can confirm that we have appointed the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) in the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to take on the role as lead commissioning body in this area for England, alongside appropriate bodies in Scotland and Wales.”

Government: OHID to provide a ‘measurable understanding’ of problem gambling

In the role of Prevention Commissioner, the OHID will receive a guaranteed funding of “£30m per year,” and will be charged with developing a comprehensive development strategy to reduce problem gambling harms across British communities.

In its remit, OHID will be able to allocate funding to third parties, supporting its organisation in “evidence-led research of problem gambling.” A further function will see OHID review “the capacity and efficiency of the NHS system, partners and frontline support providing the treatment services for gambling harms.”

Of further significance, the government has tasked OHID with providing “measurable understanding of gambling harms and prevention in the UK.”

As cited by Peacock: “OHID and appropriate bodies in Scotland and Wales will undertake necessary design work to determine the final scope of prevention activity, working closely with the research and treatment leads to ensure a joined-up approach. We will develop and provide clear and measurable outcomes for the prevention strand of the statutory levy system, as we have already done for research and treatment.”

The government stands by the Statutory Levy as “a key outcome of the Gambling Review, and a manifesto pledge to reduce gambling harms.” The OHID will oversee a new strategy to “ensure maximum impact via enhanced efficiencies and cooperation.”

GambleAware: OHID must support wide network of stakeholders

The appointment of the OHID was welcomed by GambleAware, who deemed it “appropriate for a statutory health organisation to take the role of Prevention Commissioner.” A joint statement from CEO, Zoë Osmond OBE, and Prof. Siân Griffiths (CBE) stated that GambleAware would “support OHID and other commissioners’ transition into their duties.”

As a stakeholder, GambleAware’s leadership highlighted the existing “breadth of the lived experience community’s expertise is fundamental to the life-saving work of the National Gambling Support Network (NGSN) and is central to GambleAware’s work.”

On prevention, the duo stated that “it is essential that NGSN research, education and training programmes are recognised and maintained.” A new strategy should consider “the hugely impactful work of the wider third sector, including the treatment and prevention activity delivered by the NGSN, which supports thousands of people each year, needs to be fully recognised within the future system.”

GambleAware maintains that a new system led by the NHS should “prioritise a Public Health Approach: to involve engagement with the public health community to ensure an integrated approach at both a national and local level across prevention and treatment, with a focus on achieving an agreed set of public health outcomes.”

Urgency is needed as GambleAware and stakeholders require the settlement of the “Levy Board and Advisory Panel to avoid further delays in implementing the new system.”

GambleAware signed off: “We now hope to see details of the new Levy Board and Advisory Panel published soon, to ensure no further delays to the full implementation of the future system. We believe the new system needs effective population-based prevention activity to raise awareness of the risks of gambling and ensure an integrated approach to supporting those at risk of harm. We will strive to play our full part in the future system in whichever way best ensures a collaborative and effective system is created to move us towards our vision of a society free from gambling harm.”