Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will hold discussions with the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on implementing a statutory levy on the gambling industry to fund education, research and treatment in respect of gambling-related harm.

Answered by Maggie Throup

Officials in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the Department of Health and Social Care are discussing evidence of the effectiveness of existing funding arrangements to support projects and services related to harmful gambling. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport expects to publish its white paper outlining the conclusions and proposals for reform in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department has spent on tackling gambling and gambling addiction in each of the last 10 years.

Answered by Maggie Throup

In 2019, the NHS Long Term Plan committed up to £15 million allocated over five years until 2023/24 to support the creation of 15 specialist problem gambling clinics. The following table shows the National Health Service committed annual spend for problem gambling mental health support in each of these financial years.

Source: NHS Mental Health Implementation Plan 2019/20 – 2023/24

The data on spending to tackle gambling addiction before 2019 is not held centrally.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to produce a gambling addiction strategy alongside the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport's gambling strategy.

Answered by Maggie Throup

We have no plans to do so.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding he will make available for gambling addiction services.

Answered by Maggie Throup

In 2019, the NHS Long Term Plan committed up to £15 million allocated over five years until 2023/24 to support the creation of 15 specialist problem gambling clinics. The following table shows the National Health Service committed annual spend for problem gambling mental health support in each of these financial years.

Source: NHS Mental Health Implementation Plan 2019/20 – 2023/24

The data on spending to tackle gambling addiction before 2019 is not held centrally.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people have (1) been referred, and (2) self-referred, to NHS gambling addiction services in England in each of the last five years.

Answered by Lord Kamall

The information requested is not held centrally.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has provided guidance to primary care providers on the referral of gambling disorder cases into specialist care pathways.

Answered by Maggie Throup

NHS England has commissioned the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to develop a national clinical guideline on the treatment of problem gambling. This will focus on identification, diagnosis and management of gambling-related harms and will support clinicians, including primary care providers, in referring people experiencing gambling disorder to appropriate treatment and support. Publication of the guideline is expected in 2024.

The Department continues to support the National Health Service with the phased expansion of up to 15 specialist problem gambling clinics by 2023/24. Work continues to explore how best to use existing treatment models to reach those most in need of support.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether a clinically informed assessment of the effectiveness of the voluntary support system for gambling harm has been carried out.

Answered by Maggie Throup

A clinically informed assessment has not been carried out.