Homelessness: Veterans
Debate between Baroness Lampard and Baroness Williams of Trafford(3 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)
My Lords, shall we hear from my noble friend Lady Lampard, followed by the noble Lord, Lord Browne?
Baroness Lampard (Con)
My Lords, I declare my interest as the chair of GambleAware. Veterans are 10 times more likely than non-veterans to experience gambling harms, and to gamble as a way of coping with distress. The financial consequences of gambling harms are more than likely to contribute to homelessness among veterans. Third sector organisations such as Beacon Counselling, which was commissioned by GambleAware as part of the National Gambling Support Network, do brilliant work to reduce the impact of the heightened risk to the Armed Forces community. Can the Minister tell the House how the Government intend to address the need to protect veterans from experiencing gambling harms and, to that end, how they intend to work in partnership with charities doing vital work in this area?