Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on tackling gambling addiction.

The NHS Long Term Plan includes a commitment to expand the geographical coverage of NHS services for people with serious gambling problems, and to work with partners to tackle the problem at source. Up to 15 such National Health Service clinics will be open by 2023/24.

In accordance with the NHS mental health implementation framework, the NHS will have opened three new clinics during this financial year. These are The National Problem Gambling Clinic, in London, which has opened a Children and Young People clinic; a clinic in Sunderland; and – due to be launched in March – a clinic in Manchester.

The Government also announced a new United Kingdom-wide cross-Government addiction strategy, which includes gambling within its remit. This is due to published by the end of 2020.