Asked by: Lord Chadlington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate, if any, they have made of the contribution of gambling-related harm to the UK divorce rate.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
The Government does not hold data on the number of divorces caused by problem gambling. The Government published its response, which I attach, to the Consultation on proposed changes to Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility Measures on 17 May 2018: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-proposals-for-changes-to-gaming-machines-and-social-responsibility-measures
Asked by: Lord Chadlington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to conduct a large-scale gambling prevalence survey.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
Questions about gambling participation are included in the large scale English and Scottish Health Surveys and an alternative omnibus survey for Wales. The Combined Health Survey for England, Scotland and Wales 2016 results were published on 6 September 2018 and can be found at https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/PDF/survey-data/Gambling-behaviour-in-Great-Britain-2016.pdf . A copy of which is attached.
In addition, the Gambling Commission collects participation data through smaller scale quarterly telephone and online surveys and monitors underage gambling through its young persons survey. The latest information can be found at: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/news-action-and-statistics/Statistics-and-research/Levels-of-participation-and-problem-gambling/Gambling-participation-and-problem-gambling.aspx. A copy of the full document is also attached.
Asked by: Lord Chadlington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, following Public Health England’s estimate in its guidance Alcohol and drug prevention, treatment and recovery: why invest? published on 12 February, that for every £1 invested in local alcohol treatment provision £3 is saved in wider social costs, what estimate they make of the savings to wider social costs for every £1 invested in local gambling treatment provision.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The Government has made no estimate of the wider social cost savings for every pound invested in local gambling treatment provision. Public Health England has been asked to conduct a review of the evidence of the health aspects of gambling-related harm to inform action on prevention and treatment. The Government will reflect carefully on the outcome from this work in future policy development.
Asked by: Lord Chadlington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many hospital admissions in the last five years they estimate were linked to gambling addiction.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The volume of finished admissions episodes (FAEs) with a primary or secondary diagnosis of pathological/compulsive gambling for the last five years is shown in the following table.
Year | FAEs |
2013-14 | 65 |
2014-15 | 89 |
2015-16 | 86 |
2016-17 | 72 |
2017-18 | 107 |
Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS Digital
A FAE is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period.
Asked by: Lord Chadlington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of children who are living with parents who have problems with gambling.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
The Government does not hold data on the number of children living with parents who have problems with gambling. The Gambling Commission recently published Gambling behaviour in Great Britain 2016, which reports participation, at-risk gambling and problem gambling rates. The data, drawn from combined Health surveys, shows that the rate of problem gambling in Great Britain was 0.7%, a figure which has remained relatively stable over many years.
The Government's response to the Review of Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility set out a number of initiatives to improve understanding of gambling-related harm, how to prevent and reduce it, the need for treatment and the most effective means of delivering it. This was part of a wider package of measures designed to protect those vulnerable to harm, including reducing the maximum stake from £100 to £2 on B2 gaming machines and strengthening protections around gambling advertising and online gambling.
Asked by: Lord Chadlington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what education is provided in schools about the potential adverse mental health risks associated with gambling.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
This Government wants to help all schools deliver a high-quality education to ensure that all young people are equipped with the knowledge they need to prepare them for adult life, including the risks associated with harmful behaviour and addiction.
Schools are expected to promote the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils. We know that some schools choose to teach about gambling and addiction in an age-appropriate way, as part of their Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE). The non-statutory PSHE programme of study, published by the PSHE Association includes teaching about gambling (including online) and its psychological and financial impact. There are also organisations that work with schools and children to raise awareness of the risks around gambling, including the Young Gamblers Education Trust.
We are proposing to make Health Education compulsory in all state-funded schools, which includes an emphasis on mental wellbeing for both primary and secondary pupils. Pupils should be taught how to critically evaluate when something they do or are involved in has a positive or negative effect on their own or others’ mental health. We are also making Relationships Education compulsory in all primary schools and Relationships and Sex Education compulsory in all secondary schools. We are currently consulting on the draft regulations that will make the subjects compulsory, as well as the accompanying guidance, this can be found at: https://consult.education.gov.uk/pshe/relationships-education-rse-health-education/.
Asked by: Lord Chadlington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Australia’s ban of online platforms advertising gambling during live sports events broadcast on the internet between 5am and 8.30pm; and what assessment they have made of the case for implementing a similar ban in the UK.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
The Government considered advertising as part of our Review of Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility and published our response on 17 May. The Review looked at the existing protections around gambling advertising across all media and set out a package of initiatives to strengthen them further, including tougher guidance from the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) on protecting vulnerable people and children and young people.
We do not propose to bring forward legislation on gambling advertising but we will keep these issues under review. This will include examining any new evidence emerging from research and from initiatives in other countries.
Asked by: Lord Chadlington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ashton of Hyde on 24 July (HL9368), what plans they have to make a specific assessment of loneliness in relation to online gambling.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
In January the Prime Minister announced a significant programme of cross-government work on loneliness including the world's first Minister responsible for tackling loneliness, my Hon Friend the Minister for Sport and Civil Society. This work includes publishing its strategy for tackling loneliness in England by the end of 2018 and developing the evidence base on loneliness which includes looking at wide and interconnected aspects, including digital, surrounding loneliness. The Minister is also responsible for gambling and lotteries policy and in May, the Government published its response to the Consultation on Proposals for Changes to Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility Measures. This included a range of measures designed to increase player protections around online gambling.
Asked by: Lord Chadlington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many meetings have taken place between HM Treasury and gambling companies, or their representatives, in the past year.
Answered by Lord Bates
Details of ministerial meetings with external bodies are published on the gov.uk website.
Officials meet regularly with stakeholders from across the gambling sector to hear their views on the gambling market, and a range of economic and policy issues.
Asked by: Lord Chadlington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the the level of support and care available to problem gamblers in prisons.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
Although associated with offending in some individuals, gambling is not a risk factor that has been frequently identified in the prison or probation population in England and Wales. Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) does not hold official estimates of numbers of prisoners serving sentences in connection with gambling-related harm.
HMPPS commissions providers to deliver a broad range of high quality, accredited, interventions to address the particular risks and needs of offenders. All prisoners irrespective of their sentence length are screened on entering prison for issues including debt and offered a package of support in prisons and on release to address their offending based on individual circumstances. Support available to problem gamblers includes debt advice but could also include referral to specialist organisations such as Gamblers Anonymous or Gamcare, as well as services provided through the chaplaincy and the Offender Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) such as money management courses.
In addition, all prisoners are seen by healthcare services on reception and can be referred to mental health and addiction services to help address problem gambling.