National Assessment and Future Design of the Gambling Harms Prevention, Treatment and Recovery System in Wales

Description

Terms and acronyms PHW Public Health Wales GHR Gambling Harms Reduction WG Welsh Government NHS P&I NHS Performance and Improement VCSE Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (sector) DPHs Directors of Public Health HBs Health Boards BCUHB Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board OHID Office for Health Improvement and Disparities NICE National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Summary of the work: Public Health Wales and NHS Wales Performance and Improvement are working in partnership to design an integrated prevention, treatment and recovery ecosystem for Wales. Outcome 1: Prevention & Treatment will establish a comprehensive understanding of the current landscape across Wales Outcome 2: Future Offer Design Focus on the design of the future prevention and treatment systems. Pricing model: Fixed price Provide further information: Pricing schedule is attached to this opportunity. Bidders are expected to populate and return a completed copy following stage 2 of this mini-competition process. Confirm if you require a contracted out service or supply of resource: Contracted out service: the off-payroll rules do not apply Organisation the work is for: Public Health Wales. PHW is the national co-ordinating organisation for prevention services and NHSWP&I is the national co-ordinator for treatment services. Latest start date: 2026-09-21 Expected contract length: 0-07-00 Expected contract structure: Delivery by 31st March 2027. Estimated contract value (excl VAT): 370000 Budget details: Bidders are to note this is a maximum budget and any commercial proposals that exceed this will not be considered. This budget should include any travel and accommodation costs; translation costs; costs for user research participants; and any other associated costs required to conduct this work. Why the work is being done: In response to growing concerns about the public health impact of gambling, the UK Government introduced a statutory levy on the gambling industry in April 2025. Public Health Wales has been commissioned by Welsh Government to design appropriate gambling harms prevention activities in Wales and lead the system in the development of evidence-based interventions to reduce and prevent gambling related harm. NHS Wales Performance and Improvement have been commissioned to lead the design and delivery of treatment services. The PHW programme is building a coordinated, evidence-based approach to the prevention and reduction of gambling-related harms across Wales. The programme incorporates a number of key components including voluntary, community and social enterprise competitive grant funds; funding of specialist blocking software; a toolkit for schools focussed on gambling and gaming; further work to deepen a rigorous evidence base both in terms of scale and demographics and other yet to be defined activity. We now need to look at how prevention and treatment services join up to provide a seamless experience for people at risk of or who are experiencing harms from gambling. Set timeline: Following award to delivery by 31st March 2027. Problem to be solved: This strategic view will be informed by qualitative data, developed from interviews with a wide range of stakeholders and with people with lived experience of gambling and gambling harms as well as quantitative data and other evidence. Public Health Wales and NHS Wales Performance and Improvement are working in partnership to design an integrated prevention and treatment ecosystem for Wales. PHW is the national co-ordinating organisation for prevention services and NHS P&I is the national co-ordinator for treatment services. Phase 1: Prevention and Treatment - understand the landscape Phase 1 will establish a comprehensive understanding of the current landscape across Wales Phase 2: Future Offer Phase 2 will need to diverge, as prevention and treatment have different future commissioning and delivery models. Who the users are and what they need to do: Citizen • A person experiencing harms from gambling • A person at risk of experiencing harm from gambling • An affected other (a person close to the person experiencing harms from gambling) • A person seeking treatment for gambling harms Staff member • Directors of Public Health • Public Health teams in HB • Staff in the National Treatment Service • GPs • Local authority staff in debt management services VCSE sector • VCSE staff supporting people at risk of experiencing harms • VCSE staff supporting people receiving treatment for gambling harms • VCSE staff supporting affected others Wider stakeholders • Welsh Government policy officials • Area Planning boards • Money and Pensions Service • Current treatment providers This list is not exhaustive Preliminary market engagement: N/A Work done so far: Work in progress: • grants programme for VCSEs for 2026/27 • public health strategy • Three Nations approach to digital assets (website, tools, etc) being led by OHID that will replace the Gamble Aware brand and digital assets • school’s toolkit • quantitative data collection • academic research commissioning • National Treatment Service (MVP) including Welsh phone line • Gambling blocking software Existing team: The existing team consists of public health consultants and other public health practitioners; Treatment Commissioning team; a researcher co-ordinator; comms; programme management and a digital consultant who will manage this work. Incumbent supplier: No Working arrangements: • Project team made up of expertise from within the Gambling Harms Reduction Team, NHS P&I, the supplier, using a structured approach and methodology (Agile) to include regular stand-ups, retrospect's and show & tells. • Kick-off meeting with the project team to identify roles and responsibilities, the governance approach, management of risk and proposed delivery plan in Cardiff in September 2026. • Collaboration with GHR and NHS P&I, teams across Health Boards in Wales, VCSE sector, and more to further identify current provision of services; opportunities for intervention and inform the future requirements of an all-Wales GHR system • Final in-person show and tell session, end of March 2027 to report on findings, present recommendations and next steps • Final report to be shared with recommendations and next steps • Work to be undertaken remotely where possible, and in person sessions when required • All expenses (including but not limited to travel, subsistence and translation) to be borne by the supplier Security clearance: Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) Additional information on security clearance: • Cyber Essentials plus • BPSS Special terms and conditions: N/A