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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the correlation between the increase in online gambling and the levels of loneliness in the UK.

We are developing a cross-government strategy on loneliness in England to be published later this year. This will bring together government departments, local government, public services, the voluntary and community sector and businesses to identify opportunities to tackle loneliness, and build more integrated and resilient communities. The Government has made no specific assessment of loneliness in relation to online gambling but is considering digital issues in developing the strategy. Government is also leading work to develop the evidence base around the impact of different initiatives in tackling loneliness, across all ages and within all communities.