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.

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.