Sunak reshuffle sees gambling minister relieved of duties in new white paper drama
Already delayed white paper into the Gambling Act 2005 review left in limbo as Lucy Frazer is brought in as Secretary of State of the new-look Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
The white paper into the Gambling Act 2005 review has been thrown into a state of disarray after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reshuffled his Cabinet, including the establishment of four new government departments.
The document has now hit another speed bump after de facto gambling minister Paul Scully was shifted to take a new post in a newly formed department.
One of these new departments includes the new-look Department for Culture, Media and Sport which has been split from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
DCMS has now been split into two new departments, with Lucy Frazer taking the role as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and former DCMS chief Michelle Donelan heading up the newly formed Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
EGR understands the white paper will remain under Frazer’s department’s remit despite the DCMS undergoing mass changes.
Frazer moves to this new role following five months as Minister for Housing and Planning. Before that position, Frazer served as financial secretary to the Treasury.
Frazer, MP for South East Cambridgeshire, is the fourth Secretary of State to take charge of the review since it was announced in December 2020 by Oliver Dowden.
Lucy Frazer
Scully has now been named as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
At the time of writing, a new de facto gambling minister has yet to be named.
Sources have also told EGR that Frazer’s predecessor Donelan was also keen for the white paper to be published before she left for maternity leave in April.
Speaking at the Betting and Gaming Council AGM last month, Scully said that the white paper will be published “in the coming weeks” and is expected to be released by the end of March.
It is also understood that the white paper will be subject to a Cabinet write-around process to allow the government to assess its contents, which could take a month to complete.
The latest political upheaval in Westminster could merely elongate this timeline, with the industry on tenterhooks regarding the document’s outcome.
At the time, Scully said: “We are putting the finishing touches to our white paper, making the final decisions and preparing for publication. We’re a matter of weeks away from you all seeing it, and then we can start the process of nailing down details and implementing reforms.”