Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help tackle addiction issues in under 18s.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The most effective and sustainable approach to tackling addiction in children and young people is by giving them the best start in life and by keeping them safe, well, and happy. Our mission-based approach will ensure that every child has the best start in life and that we create the healthiest generation of children ever.
Statutory guidance on relationships, sex, and health education requires all primary and secondary schools to ensure that pupils know the key facts and risks associated with alcohol and drug use, smoking, vaping, and gambling, as well as how to manage influences and pressure, and to keep themselves healthy and safe.
The Department has worked with the Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education Association to develop the lesson plans on alcohol and drugs, and has commissioned an update of the resources to be published later this year. Further information is available at the following link:
https://pshe-association.org.uk/drugeducation
The Government also has an alcohol and drug information and advice service called Talk to FRANK, which aims to reduce alcohol and drug use and its harms by providing awareness to young people, parents and concerned others. Further information on Talk to FRANK is available at the following link:
In addition to the Public Health Grant, the Department allocated local authorities £267 million in 2024/25 to improve the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery, which includes funding for services for children and young people with, or at risk of developing, alcohol and/or drug problems. Future targeted funding for drug and alcohol treatment services beyond 2025 will be announced very shortly.
The Government is providing £70 million of additional funding for local authority-led Stop Smoking Services in England in 2024/25, which includes adults and under 18 year olds, building on existing funding made available via the Public Health Grant. The Government will also provide a further £70 million of funding for Stop Smoking Services in 2025/26.
While vaping can be an effective way for adult smokers to quit smoking, children should never vape. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will break the cycle of addiction and protect children from future harm by banning the advertising and sponsorship of vaping and nicotine products, and will provide powers to regulate their flavours and packaging, and will change how and where they are displayed in shops. The bill will bring about definitive and positive change to stop future generations from becoming hooked on nicotine. It will create the first smoke-free generation, and will ensure that children turning 16 years old this year or younger can never legally be sold tobacco.
The Government is committed to reducing gambling-related harm through regulatory reform to strengthen protections. We continue to work with Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, the National Health Service, and other delivery partners to consider how best to achieve this. Since 2019, treatment and support for under 18 year old’s experiencing gambling-related harm has been available through the NHS National Gambling Clinic.
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to prevent children participating in gambling via online video games.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Protecting children and young people from being harmed or exploited by gambling is a core priority for the Government and a Gambling Commission objective. Under the Gambling Act 2005, gambling is defined as playing a game of chance for a prize of money or money's worth. Gambling-like features in video games, such as loot boxes, do not meet this legal definition of gambling.
We are aware that there are instances where third party websites allow players to gamble using prizes that can be transferred in and out of some video games. Where these instances of illegal gambling are identified, the Gambling Commission takes swift action to disrupt these websites and protect players. The Government and the Gambling Commission continue to pay close attention to novel and emergent forms of gambling and gambling-like products, including within video games, to ensure that appropriate regulation is in place.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to educate parents, carers and young people about the risks of online gambling and advertising exposure.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Protecting children and young people from being harmed or exploited by gambling is a core Gambling Commission objective, and a priority for the Government. To prevent children and young people from experiencing gambling-related harm later in life, since 2020, children have been taught about the risks relating to gambling as part of the statutory Relationships, Sex and Health Education curriculum in England.
The government is introducing a statutory levy to be paid by gambling operators raising funding for research, prevention and treatment of gambling-related harms. We recognise that more may need to be done to improve the education of children and young people around the risks and harms associated with gambling. The levy will play an important part in the Government’s wider aim to have a better informed and protected public when it comes to gambling harms.
As I set out last week, I have set the gambling industry a clear task to further raise standards to ensure that levels of gambling advertising does not exacerbate harm, and this work will be monitored closely.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to tackle gambling advertisements (a) online and (b) on television which are targeted at young people.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
There are a range of robust rules and restrictions which apply to gambling adverts, wherever they appear, to ensure they are socially responsible.
As part of the UK Advertising Codes, issued by the Committees for Advertising Practice (CAP) and Broadcast Committees of Advertising Practice (BCAP), sister organisations of the Advertising Standards Authority, adverts must not be placed in children’s media and advertisers must take all reasonable steps to ensure that under-18s are excluded from their targeted marketing. In addition, content with ‘strong appeal’ to children such as top flight footballers or celebrities popular with children is prohibited from appearing in gambling adverts. As the statutory regulator for gambling in Great Britain, the Gambling Commission requires all licensed operators to abide by the Advertising Codes.
As the Minister for Gambling set out in her speech at the GambleAware conference on 4 December, we want to see the gambling industry further raise standards to ensure that levels of gambling advertising does not exacerbate harm. This work will be monitored closely.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's response to the Government's consultation on the structure, distribution and governance of the statutory levy on gambling operators, published on 27 November 2024, what steps her Department is taking to improve education for (a) children and (b) young people on the issue of gambling harms.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Within schools, statutory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) supports children and young people to make informed decisions in relation to their mental wellbeing and online behaviour. The RSHE statutory guidance is clear that children and young people should be taught about the risks related to gambling including the accumulation of debt, how advertising and information is targeted at them and how to be a discerning consumer of information online.
These subjects support children and young people to develop self-control and their ability to self-regulate, as well as providing strategies for doing so.
Young people attending further education (FE) colleges, take part in regular tutor sessions that are devoted to their personal development. This includes financial education and the informed use of money where the dangers of gambling can be discussed. The department continues to work closely with the FE sector to promote and support providers to develop and implement a whole college approach to mental health and wellbeing. This includes establishing Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges to provide early intervention for students experiencing mild to moderate mental health issues.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many young people aged 13 to 18 have been treated by the NHS for problem gambling in the past year.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The most recent data available shows that between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024, eleven young people aged 13 to 18 years old were referred to National Health Services for treatment related to their gambling.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 16 April 2024 to Question 20454 on Mental Health Services: Stockport, how the £4.7 billion of increased funding for mental health has been spent; and how much and what proportion of that funding has been spent by (a) local authority and (b) constituency area.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
Whilst a definitive answer is not possible, most of this additional funding was allocated to local health systems to be spent on expanding and transforming mental health services across the country. This is evidenced by:
- an increase in the number of adults accessing NHS Talking Therapies, with nearly 6 million people being supported over this five year period; an increase in the number of children and young people accessing mental health support, with over 750,000 children and young people under 18 years old supported through National Health Service funded mental health services, those with at least one contact, over the 12 months to January 2024;
- the roll out of approximately 400 mental health support teams in schools and colleges; the transformation of community mental health services for adults with approximately 288,000 adults and older adults with severe mental illness able to access improved physical health care, employment support, personalised and trauma informed care, medicines management and support for self-harm, and coexisting substance use over 2022/23, the latest full financial year for which figures are available;
- the establishment of around the clock and all-age urgent mental health helplines in every part of England;
- the investment of £30 million to meet the health needs of people sleeping rough, allowing for the establishment of 37 sites with new mental health provision for rough sleepers;
- the opening, or planned opening, of 15 specialist gambling treatment clinics, achieving representation across every region of England and including specialist provision for children and young people;
- the provision of £57 million of funding up to the end of March 2024, to embed local suicide and self-harm prevention activity, and to provide suicide bereavement support services in every local area.
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
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 her Belgian counterpart on regulating micro-transactions in video games as gambling.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The Government monitors the impact of microtransactions in video games on players, including children and young people. In 2020, we launched a call for evidence on loot boxes in video games which found an association between purchasing loot boxes and problem gambling, although no causal link has been found.
We have since welcomed new industry-led guidance to improve protections for players and meet the following Government objectives that:
purchases of loot boxes should be unavailable to all children and young people unless and until they are enabled by a parent or guardian; and
all players should have access to and be aware of spending controls and transparent information to support safe and responsible gaming.
We are working with industry and academics to monitor the implementation and effectiveness of the new guidance and will provide an update following the 12-month implementation period, and independent academic scrutiny. We continue to keep our position on possible future legislative options under review. We monitor developments in other international jurisdictions, including Belgium, although no recent discussions with Belgian counterparts have taken place.
Whilst the new guidance relates to paid loot boxes specifically, a number of the measures are relevant to in-game microtransactions more broadly, particularly for children and young people. This includes driving awareness of and uptake of parental controls, and running a three-year £1 million public information campaign to provide information to players and parents about safe and responsible play
We have also published a Video Games Research Framework to improve the evidence base on the impacts of video games, including microtransactions and player spending. The Framework outlines the research topics and priorities which we have identified as core areas in need of further research. This includes better understanding of the impact of different monetisation features on players’ experiences, and the effectiveness of mechanisms to mitigate the risk of problematic spending behaviours.
While some microtransactions share similarities with traditional gambling products, we view the ability to legitimately cash out rewards as an important distinction. In particular, the prize does not normally have real world monetary value outside of the game, and its primary utility is to enhance the in-game experience. The Gambling Commission has shown that it can and will take robust enforcement action where the trading of items obtained from in-game microtransactions does amount to unlicensed gambling. Microtransactions within video games - including loot boxes - are also subject to consumer protection legislation that protects against misleading or aggressive marketing.
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department (a) has and (b) plans to make an assessment of the potential impact of micro-transactions in video games on levels of spending among children and young people.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The Government monitors the impact of microtransactions in video games on players, including children and young people. In 2020, we launched a call for evidence on loot boxes in video games which found an association between purchasing loot boxes and problem gambling, although no causal link has been found.
We have since welcomed new industry-led guidance to improve protections for players and meet the following Government objectives that:
purchases of loot boxes should be unavailable to all children and young people unless and until they are enabled by a parent or guardian; and
all players should have access to and be aware of spending controls and transparent information to support safe and responsible gaming.
We are working with industry and academics to monitor the implementation and effectiveness of the new guidance and will provide an update following the 12-month implementation period, and independent academic scrutiny. We continue to keep our position on possible future legislative options under review. We monitor developments in other international jurisdictions, including Belgium, although no recent discussions with Belgian counterparts have taken place.
Whilst the new guidance relates to paid loot boxes specifically, a number of the measures are relevant to in-game microtransactions more broadly, particularly for children and young people. This includes driving awareness of and uptake of parental controls, and running a three-year £1 million public information campaign to provide information to players and parents about safe and responsible play
We have also published a Video Games Research Framework to improve the evidence base on the impacts of video games, including microtransactions and player spending. The Framework outlines the research topics and priorities which we have identified as core areas in need of further research. This includes better understanding of the impact of different monetisation features on players’ experiences, and the effectiveness of mechanisms to mitigate the risk of problematic spending behaviours.
While some microtransactions share similarities with traditional gambling products, we view the ability to legitimately cash out rewards as an important distinction. In particular, the prize does not normally have real world monetary value outside of the game, and its primary utility is to enhance the in-game experience. The Gambling Commission has shown that it can and will take robust enforcement action where the trading of items obtained from in-game microtransactions does amount to unlicensed gambling. Microtransactions within video games - including loot boxes - are also subject to consumer protection legislation that protects against misleading or aggressive marketing.
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of micro-transactions in video games on gambling behaviours among children and young people.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The Government monitors the impact of microtransactions in video games on players, including children and young people. In 2020, we launched a call for evidence on loot boxes in video games which found an association between purchasing loot boxes and problem gambling, although no causal link has been found.
We have since welcomed new industry-led guidance to improve protections for players and meet the following Government objectives that:
purchases of loot boxes should be unavailable to all children and young people unless and until they are enabled by a parent or guardian; and
all players should have access to and be aware of spending controls and transparent information to support safe and responsible gaming.
We are working with industry and academics to monitor the implementation and effectiveness of the new guidance and will provide an update following the 12-month implementation period, and independent academic scrutiny. We continue to keep our position on possible future legislative options under review. We monitor developments in other international jurisdictions, including Belgium, although no recent discussions with Belgian counterparts have taken place.
Whilst the new guidance relates to paid loot boxes specifically, a number of the measures are relevant to in-game microtransactions more broadly, particularly for children and young people. This includes driving awareness of and uptake of parental controls, and running a three-year £1 million public information campaign to provide information to players and parents about safe and responsible play
We have also published a Video Games Research Framework to improve the evidence base on the impacts of video games, including microtransactions and player spending. The Framework outlines the research topics and priorities which we have identified as core areas in need of further research. This includes better understanding of the impact of different monetisation features on players’ experiences, and the effectiveness of mechanisms to mitigate the risk of problematic spending behaviours.
While some microtransactions share similarities with traditional gambling products, we view the ability to legitimately cash out rewards as an important distinction. In particular, the prize does not normally have real world monetary value outside of the game, and its primary utility is to enhance the in-game experience. The Gambling Commission has shown that it can and will take robust enforcement action where the trading of items obtained from in-game microtransactions does amount to unlicensed gambling. Microtransactions within video games - including loot boxes - are also subject to consumer protection legislation that protects against misleading or aggressive marketing.