Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of undiagnosed cardiovascular diseases and conditions in young people; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of undiagnosed cardiovascular diseases and conditions on young people.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Data on the number of undiagnosed cardiovascular diseases and conditions in young people is not held centrally as these conditions are undiagnosed. The National Health Service, however, offers screening to young persons, those aged under 35 years old, where a family member has suffered from a sudden cardiac death. The charity Cardiac Risk in the Young offers subsidised cardiac screening to all young people aged between 14 and 35 years old and may hold data on the number of young people requesting screening outside of the NHS.

NHS England published in 2017 a national service specification for Inherited Cardiac Conditions (ICC), which defines the standards of care expected from organisations funded by NHS England. This specification covers young adults with previously undiagnosed cardiac disease. The aim of the ICC services is to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and outcome of patients with ICCs.

NHS England is currently reviewing this service specification, working with a broad range of stakeholders as part of the review, including NHS clinical experts, the Association of Inherited Cardiac Conditions, Cardiomyopathy UK, Heart Valve Voice, and the British Heart Foundation. NHS England does not have a national audit programme for ICCs, and therefore no treatment data is held centrally.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made on the potential impact of gambling advertising, promotion and sponsorship on the (a) mental health and (b) finances of (i) people with a gambling problem and (ii) people susceptible to a gambling problem.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

This government recognises that while advertising is a legitimate advantage which licensed operators have over illegal gambling firms, increased exposure to gambling advertising can have an impact on gambling participation. Some forms of advertising can also have a disproportionate impact on particular groups, such as children and those who are already experiencing problems with their gambling.

There are existing robust rules in place to ensure that advertising and marketing, whenever it appears, is socially responsible, with a particular regard to the need to protect children, young persons and other vulnerable persons from being harmed and exploited. The Gambling Commission is also introducing new requirements for operators to allow customers to have greater control over the direct marketing they receive, and measures to ensure that incentives such as free bets are constructed in a socially responsible manner.

However, we recognise that more can be done to improve protections. We have set the gambling industry a clear task to raise standards and this work will be monitored closely.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help reduce (a) plastic pollution, (b) other litter and (c) fuel pollution in (i) rivers, (ii) streams and (iii) seas.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Cleaning up England’s rivers, lakes and seas is a top Government priority. That is why we are placing water companies under special measures through the Water (Special Measures) Act. The Act will drive meaningful improvements in the performance and culture of the water industry as a first important step in enabling wider, transformative change across the water sector.

Urban diffuse pollution including highways drainage accounts for 18% of water quality failures. Highways drainage may contain polluting substances from fuel, oil and tyre wear. The Environment Agency is supporting National Highways in their mitigation of high-risk outfalls and is working with them on joint incident response strategies to minimise risk from road traffic accidents.

The Environment Agency assesses every reported pollution incident and where serious or significant pollution is suspected Officers will attend to investigate and minimise pollution. It will also investigate any serious offending and takes appropriate action under its enforcement and sanctions policy. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/environment-agency-enforcement-and-sanctions-policy/environment-agency-enforcement-and-sanctions-policy

The Government is also working domestically and internationally to implement measures that will prevent plastic and other litter from reaching the environment.

Furthermore, the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for drinks containers will introduce a redeemable deposit on single-use in-scope drinks containers which can be claimed back by customers when the empty container is returned. DRS will reduce litter, increase recycling rates, create high quality recyclate for producers, and promote a circular economy.

Littering is a crime that blights communities and the environment. This Government is considering what further steps are needed to help local authorities reduce litter and thus prevent it from entering and damaging our waterways and ecosystems.

Marine litter and plastic pollution are transboundary problems, which is why the UK is calling for an ambitious international agreement to end plastic pollution by 2040 and working with our closest neighbours to implement the OSPAR Regional Action Plan for Marine Litter.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of gambling premises on (a) anti-social behaviour and (b) other crime.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

Those experiencing gambling-related harm in England can access specialist treatment through specialist NHS Gambling Clinics available in every region of the country, including the Southern Gambling Service. There is also a range of support through the National Gambling Support Network.

The Government has introduced a statutory levy on gambling operators to improve and expand the research, prevention and treatment of gambling harms. This will include ringfenced funding overseen by NHS England and appropriate bodies in Scotland and Wales to commission the full treatment pathway, from referral and triage through to aftercare. We will continue to work with NHS England in collaboration with the Scottish and Welsh governments, as well as third sector providers, to design and deliver our approach to treatment of gambling-related harms across Great Britain.

Licensing authorities are able to set conditions on premises to mitigate risks posed by anti-social behaviour and crime. This can include imposing enhanced security requirements which take into account risks from their local area profiles. Premises licence holders must also conduct a local area risk assessment for each of their premises which includes risk mitigation around crime and anti-social behaviour. The local area risk assessment is subject to inspection by the licensing authority. There are also schemes such as Betwatch, a community-based crime prevention scheme between the Gambling Commission, the police, local council, and gambling premises, which is designed to tackle localised anti-social and criminal behaviour in and around betting shops.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle gambling harms (a) nationally and (b) in Southampton Test constituency.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

Those experiencing gambling-related harm in England can access specialist treatment through specialist NHS Gambling Clinics available in every region of the country, including the Southern Gambling Service. There is also a range of support through the National Gambling Support Network.

The Government has introduced a statutory levy on gambling operators to improve and expand the research, prevention and treatment of gambling harms. This will include ringfenced funding overseen by NHS England and appropriate bodies in Scotland and Wales to commission the full treatment pathway, from referral and triage through to aftercare. We will continue to work with NHS England in collaboration with the Scottish and Welsh governments, as well as third sector providers, to design and deliver our approach to treatment of gambling-related harms across Great Britain.

Licensing authorities are able to set conditions on premises to mitigate risks posed by anti-social behaviour and crime. This can include imposing enhanced security requirements which take into account risks from their local area profiles. Premises licence holders must also conduct a local area risk assessment for each of their premises which includes risk mitigation around crime and anti-social behaviour. The local area risk assessment is subject to inspection by the licensing authority. There are also schemes such as Betwatch, a community-based crime prevention scheme between the Gambling Commission, the police, local council, and gambling premises, which is designed to tackle localised anti-social and criminal behaviour in and around betting shops.