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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what her Department's expected timescale is for launching its consultation on the (a) design and (b) scope of the statutory levy for gambling operators.

The Government is working with the Gambling Commission, gambling industry and others to implement all the measures set out in the gambling white paper as soon as possible. A number of proposals are already complete, at consultation stage, or being trialled ahead of implementation.

We launched the consultation on the details of the statutory levy, including rates for different sectors and governance arrangements, on 17 October. We are also continuing work with the industry and Gambling Commission to scope and design an ombudsman, and remain on track for it to be established next summer.

The cross department group of officials working on informational messaging on the risks associated with gambling has met a number of times since the white paper was published.