SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The UK government has this morning announced that Damian Green will serve as Chair of the DCMS Committee to oversee the department’s work on current inquiries.
Green has agreed to stand as Chair in the absence of Julian Knight (MP for Solihull), who recused himself from Parliament last month to resolve sexual harassment complaints made against him to the Metropolitan Police.
The Conservative MP for Ashford, Green has been a member of the Committee since the start of the current Parliament and has previously served as First Secretary of State and Work and Pensions Secretary.
As it stands, DCMS Committee is currently overseeing policy development for nine separate inquiries including the Gambling Review, which has faced consecutive delays in 2021 and 2022.
In December, the government announced that the Gambling Review had entered its final regulatory assessment overseen by the DCMS Committee, which plans to publish long-awaited White Paper recommendations in February 2023.
Further to the Gambling Review, DCMS inquiries include a review of Women’s Sports Funding, Safety at Sporting Grounds, Promoting Britain Abroad and Cultural Directives for Britain’s Levelling-up Agenda.
The DCMS Committee comprises 11 cross-party peers, including six Conservative, three Labour and two independent members.
The management of DCMS has come under the spotlight as the department has failed to deliver on all key pledges of the Conservative government’s 2019 manifesto to review broadcasting, online safety, football governance and gambling.
“This year will undoubtedly bring with it some major policy challenges in the world of DCMS, with online safety, the future of public service broadcasting, sports governance and gambling all likely to feature high up on the agenda,” Green commented.
“The Committee will continue the important work it has been doing by asking the right questions and scrutinising the approach and decisions of the Government and others.”
