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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential merits of including public health officials in the gambling license process.

The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has not had discussions on this matter with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.

There are several ways that public health officials at local authorities contribute to the gambling licensing process. For example, as noted in the Gambling Commission’s Guidance to Licensing Authorities, public health teams can advise licensing authorities on their Licensing Statement of Policy for gambling, to help ensure it reflects current risks and knowledge. Public health teams can also contribute to the development of ‘local area profiles’. These can be used to identify higher-risk areas where gambling premises must implement mitigation measures to address risk, and the Gambling Commission and Local Government Association have encouraged licensing authorities to produce them.

We recognise some stakeholders have noted it is unclear whether the Gambling Act designates public health officials as a responsible authority in the licensing process. We will consider the best available evidence to inform any future decisions in this area.