Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce an NHS-led and commissioned treatment system to treat gambling addiction.

The NHS Long Term Plan made a commitment to expand the geographical coverage of NHS services for people with serious gambling problems.

In addition to the existing National Problem Gambling Clinic in London, the National Health Service has committed to opening an additional 14 new problem gambling clinics by 2023/24. The NHS Northern Gambling Service in Leeds opened in 2019 and now has satellite sites in Manchester and Sunderland. The NHS Mental Health Implementation Plan has committed to spending a total of £6 million on gambling-related harms by 2023/24.

As part of the Long Term Plan, NHS England and NHS Improvement are improving referral routes for mental health services in primary care, by focusing on the integration of services.