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

To ask His Majesty's Government which charities they have met with to discuss the commissioning process for new independent provision of gambling harms research, prevention and treatment; and what impact, if any, those discussions have had on the commissioning process.

All Ministerial meetings are declared in the respective quarterly transparency return.

The lead commissioning bodies for research, prevention and treatment who hold responsibility for commissioning decisions have engaged with a wide range of stakeholders as part of their programme development. Both the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) and NHS England have communicated regularly with a wide variety of charities in the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector to set out timings and requirements for their grant processes.

DCMS remains confident that the levy commissioning processes are being administered appropriately and that all funding decisions will be made on the basis of assessed need, value for money and the ability of applicants to deliver effective, evidence-based interventions.