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Written Question
Mental Health Services: Veterans
Thursday 14th March 2024

Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)

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 22 February 2024 to Question 12907 on Mental Health Services: Veterans, if she will make an estimate of the number of veterans with gambling addictions that have used Op COURAGE since its inception.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

NHS England commissions Op COURAGE, which provides a comprehensive mental health service for veterans. Since its inception in 2017, over 35,000 referrals have been made to Op COURAGE. NHS England does not hold data on the number of veterans who have accessed Op COURAGE services on more than one occasion, or the numbers of veterans with gambling additions that have used Op COURAGE.

NHS England has commissioned three pilot sites to explore and evaluate the merits of social prescribing in the Armed Forces Community. The outcome of the evaluation is planned for Autumn 2024, and the findings will inform a toolkit which can be used by other social prescribing teams.


Written Question
Mental Health Services: Veterans
Thursday 14th March 2024

Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)

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 28 February 2024 to Question 14455 on Mental Health Services: Veterans, how many veterans were referred to Op COURAGE more than once since its inception.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

NHS England commissions Op COURAGE, which provides a comprehensive mental health service for veterans. Since its inception in 2017, over 35,000 referrals have been made to Op COURAGE. NHS England does not hold data on the number of veterans who have accessed Op COURAGE services on more than one occasion, or the numbers of veterans with gambling additions that have used Op COURAGE.

NHS England has commissioned three pilot sites to explore and evaluate the merits of social prescribing in the Armed Forces Community. The outcome of the evaluation is planned for Autumn 2024, and the findings will inform a toolkit which can be used by other social prescribing teams.


Written Question
Alcoholism and Drugs: Veterans
Wednesday 21st February 2024

Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of existing treatment services for veterans with alcohol and drug dependency.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

The National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) is part of the Government’s New Hospital Programme, with construction starting in 2023. This new 70-bed facility will benefit all patients including veterans by bringing together patient care, research, innovation, and training and education under one roof.

In addition, Op RESTORE has been commissioned by NHS England to act as a comprehensive veterans’ mental and physical health and wellbeing service. It supports individuals who have served in, or are leaving, the British Armed Forces and who have physical health injuries and related medical problems attributed to their time in the Armed Forces. Additionally, in April 2023, a new integrated Op COURAGE service launched which includes access to dedicated support for those presenting with substance misuse and other addictions such as gambling. Access to Op COURAGE is via referral or by direct contact from veterans, with a campaign to raise awareness of Op COURAGE having been launched on 9 January 2024.

The Government is providing an additional £10 million to support the Veterans’ Places, People and Pathways Programme to increase support to a significant community of vulnerable veterans throughout the United Kingdom, and to enable it to become self-sustaining.

The Government has not made any assessment of the adequacy of existing rehabilitative care for injured veterans, existing treatment services for veterans with alcohol and drug dependency or existing mental health support for veterans who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Office for Veterans' Affairs engage with Five Eyes international partners to share best practice on research and policy delivery. This engagement covers a wide range of issues relating to veterans including physical health. My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has not had additional engagement with international partners on rehabilitative care for veterans.


Written Question
Health Services: Veterans
Tuesday 20th February 2024

Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department (a) has taken and (b) plans to take steps to learn from international best practice on the provision of rehabilitative care for injured veterans.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

The National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) is part of the Government’s New Hospital Programme, with construction starting in 2023. This new 70-bed facility will benefit all patients including veterans by bringing together patient care, research, innovation, and training and education under one roof.

In addition, Op RESTORE has been commissioned by NHS England to act as a comprehensive veterans’ mental and physical health and wellbeing service. It supports individuals who have served in, or are leaving, the British Armed Forces and who have physical health injuries and related medical problems attributed to their time in the Armed Forces. Additionally, in April 2023, a new integrated Op COURAGE service launched which includes access to dedicated support for those presenting with substance misuse and other addictions such as gambling. Access to Op COURAGE is via referral or by direct contact from veterans, with a campaign to raise awareness of Op COURAGE having been launched on 9 January 2024.

The Government is providing an additional £10 million to support the Veterans’ Places, People and Pathways Programme to increase support to a significant community of vulnerable veterans throughout the United Kingdom, and to enable it to become self-sustaining.

The Government has not made any assessment of the adequacy of existing rehabilitative care for injured veterans, existing treatment services for veterans with alcohol and drug dependency or existing mental health support for veterans who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Office for Veterans' Affairs engage with Five Eyes international partners to share best practice on research and policy delivery. This engagement covers a wide range of issues relating to veterans including physical health. My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has not had additional engagement with international partners on rehabilitative care for veterans.


Written Question
Health Services: Veterans
Monday 19th February 2024

Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of existing rehabilitative care for injured veterans.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

The National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) is part of the Government’s New Hospital Programme, with construction starting in 2023. This new 70-bed facility will benefit all patients including veterans by bringing together patient care, research, innovation, and training and education under one roof.

In addition, Op RESTORE has been commissioned by NHS England to act as a comprehensive veterans’ mental and physical health and wellbeing service. It supports individuals who have served in, or are leaving, the British Armed Forces and who have physical health injuries and related medical problems attributed to their time in the Armed Forces. Additionally, in April 2023, a new integrated Op COURAGE service launched which includes access to dedicated support for those presenting with substance misuse and other addictions such as gambling. Access to Op COURAGE is via referral or by direct contact from veterans, with a campaign to raise awareness of Op COURAGE having been launched on 9 January 2024.

The Government is providing an additional £10 million to support the Veterans’ Places, People and Pathways Programme to increase support to a significant community of vulnerable veterans throughout the United Kingdom, and to enable it to become self-sustaining.

The Government has not made any assessment of the adequacy of existing rehabilitative care for injured veterans, existing treatment services for veterans with alcohol and drug dependency or existing mental health support for veterans who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Office for Veterans' Affairs engage with Five Eyes international partners to share best practice on research and policy delivery. This engagement covers a wide range of issues relating to veterans including physical health. My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has not had additional engagement with international partners on rehabilitative care for veterans.


Written Question
Students: Gambling
Tuesday 30th January 2024

Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they have in place to improve coordination between schools, colleges, universities and support services to better assist students struggling with gambling addiction.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government is committed to tackling gambling-related harms. While education settings are not mental health or gambling-related harm specialists, they are well placed to identify where a child or young person is struggling and help them to access support, linking them to NHS support and specialist services as needed.

Where gambling problems are affecting the mental health of young people, our programme of Mental Health Support Teams and senior mental health lead training supports schools and colleges to identify individuals in need of further support and make effective referrals to external agencies, to help young people get appropriate, timely support.

The department works closely with the higher education (HE) sector to promote and fund effective mental health support for university students. £15 million of funding this year from the Office for Students (OfS) will go to mental health support and the OfS-funded Student Space continues to provide students with free online mental health resources and confidential support on a range of topics, including addiction support. The OfS has also brought together HE providers and NHS trusts across each region in England to deliver better join up between university wellbeing support and NHS services.

Additionally, schools, colleges and universities have access to the NHS webpage 'Help for problem gambling'. This covers common indicators which could help identify whether individuals may be experiencing gambling-related harm, as well as providing initial signposting to the sources of support available to those in need. A link to the webpage can be found here: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/addiction-support/gambling-addiction/.

As part of the NHS Long Term Plan commitment to expand geographical coverage of treatment for those experiencing gambling-related harm, the National Problem Gambling Clinic in London offers specialist treatment and support for children and young people.

The government White Paper ‘High stakes: gambling reform for the digital age’, published in April 2023, announced the introduction of a statutory levy on gambling operators to fund the research, prevention and treatment of gambling-related harms. This presents an opportunity to consider how best to improve awareness and understanding of gambling-related harms amongst young people, and how to ensure availability of effective support across all educational settings.


Written Question
Mental Illness: Gambling
Wednesday 13th December 2023

Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had about processes for supporting patients presenting at GP surgeries with mental health issues related to potential gambling habits.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Primary care services play an important role in supporting people with mental health conditions, including in helping them to access the most appropriate services for their needs.

As set out in the NHS Mental Health Implementation Plan, 15 new National Health Service specialist problem gambling clinics will be opened by March 2024. This will include piloting provision for children under 18 years old. Twelve of these clinics are already operational with the remaining three expected to open by the end of the year. Through the clinics, representing every region of England, the NHS will be able to treat up to 3,000 people experiencing gambling-related harm each year.

In April 2023, the Government published its white paper, High Stakes – gambling reform for the digital age. This announced the introduction of a statutory levy on gambling operators to fund research, prevention, and treatment of gambling-related harms. Once operational, the levy will help to expand and improve existing treatment and support service to ensure those in need are able to access the right care at the right time. A copy of the white paper is attached.


Written Question
Gambling: Mental Illness
Friday 20th October 2023

Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to NICE's draft for consultation entitled Harmful gambling: identification, assessment and management, published in October 2023, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on that consultation's draft guidance on GPs asking patients presenting with a mental health issue about their potential gambling habits.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is the government lead for treatment of gambling-related harms and commissioned the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to develop a new clinical guideline on gambling which is currently out for consultation and will close on 15 November. Following the gambling white paper published in April, DCMS has launched a public consultation on the statutory levy charged to gambling operators which proposes clear, ringfenced investment for the NHS to lead the commissioning of treatment services for gambling-related harm.

The Secretary of State has not recently had any such discussions, but DCMS officials will continue to work closely with DHSC to ensure that the latest evidence on the health harms associated with gambling and effective treatment resulting from that consultation is closely considered.


Written Question
Regulation: Public Bodies
Friday 23rd June 2023

Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy for all Departments to publish a list of all their associated public bodies that have been delegated power to (a)make amend or revoke, (b) enforce and (c) monitor compliance with regulations.

Answered by Jeremy Quin

The Cabinet Office publishes a list of public bodies classified as arm’s length bodies, the public bodies directory, which includes whether an organisation performs a regulatory function.

The arm’s length bodies which departments have flagged as performing a regulatory function through the most recent public bodies directory data collection are:

  • Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board

  • Animal and Plant Health Agency

  • British Hallmarking Council

  • Care Quality Commission

  • Charity Commission for England & Wales

  • Civil Justice Council

  • Civil Service Commission

  • Coal Authority

  • Commission on Human Medicines

  • Competition and Markets Authority

  • Copyright Tribunal

  • Education and Skills Funding Agency

  • Environment Agency

  • Equality and Human Rights Commission

  • Food Standards Agency

  • Forestry Commision

  • Gambling Commission

  • Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority

  • Health and Safety Executive

  • Health Education England

  • Health Research Authority

  • Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England

  • Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority

  • Human Tissue Authority

  • Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens’ Rights Agreements

  • Independent Office for Police Conduct

  • Information Commissioner's Office

  • Insolvency Service

  • Legal Services Board

  • Marine Management Organisation

  • Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA)

  • Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency

  • Natural England

  • NHS Improvement (includes Monitor and TDA)

  • Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission

  • Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

  • Office for Environmental Protection

  • Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (OFSTED)

  • Office for Students

  • Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem)

  • Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (OFQUAL)

  • Office of Rail and Road

  • Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner

  • Oil and Gas Authority (now called the North Sea Transition Authority)

  • Parades Commission for Northern Ireland

  • Pensions Ombudsman

  • Planning Inspectorate

  • Regulator of Social Housing

  • School Teachers’ Review Body

  • Sea Fish Industry Authority

  • Security Industry Authority

  • Single Source Regulations Office

  • Small Business Commissioner

  • Social Work England

  • Sports Grounds Safety Authority

  • The Housing Ombudsman

  • The Pensions Regulator

  • The Statistics Board, publicly known as the UK Statistics Authority

  • Theatres Trust

  • Traffic Commissioners

  • Trinity House

  • UK Hydrographic Office

  • UK Space Agency

  • Valuation Tribunal for England

  • Valuation Tribunal Service

  • Veterinary Medicines Directorate

  • Water Services Regulation Authority (OFWAT)


Written Question
Regulation: Public Bodies
Friday 23rd June 2023

Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will provide a list of all public bodies that have been delegated powers to (a) make amend or revoke, (b) enforce and (c) monitor compliance with regulations.

Answered by Jeremy Quin

The Cabinet Office publishes a list of public bodies classified as arm’s length bodies, the public bodies directory, which includes whether an organisation performs a regulatory function.

The arm’s length bodies which departments have flagged as performing a regulatory function through the most recent public bodies directory data collection are:

  • Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board

  • Animal and Plant Health Agency

  • British Hallmarking Council

  • Care Quality Commission

  • Charity Commission for England & Wales

  • Civil Justice Council

  • Civil Service Commission

  • Coal Authority

  • Commission on Human Medicines

  • Competition and Markets Authority

  • Copyright Tribunal

  • Education and Skills Funding Agency

  • Environment Agency

  • Equality and Human Rights Commission

  • Food Standards Agency

  • Forestry Commision

  • Gambling Commission

  • Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority

  • Health and Safety Executive

  • Health Education England

  • Health Research Authority

  • Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England

  • Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority

  • Human Tissue Authority

  • Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens’ Rights Agreements

  • Independent Office for Police Conduct

  • Information Commissioner's Office

  • Insolvency Service

  • Legal Services Board

  • Marine Management Organisation

  • Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA)

  • Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency

  • Natural England

  • NHS Improvement (includes Monitor and TDA)

  • Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission

  • Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

  • Office for Environmental Protection

  • Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (OFSTED)

  • Office for Students

  • Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem)

  • Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (OFQUAL)

  • Office of Rail and Road

  • Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner

  • Oil and Gas Authority (now called the North Sea Transition Authority)

  • Parades Commission for Northern Ireland

  • Pensions Ombudsman

  • Planning Inspectorate

  • Regulator of Social Housing

  • School Teachers’ Review Body

  • Sea Fish Industry Authority

  • Security Industry Authority

  • Single Source Regulations Office

  • Small Business Commissioner

  • Social Work England

  • Sports Grounds Safety Authority

  • The Housing Ombudsman

  • The Pensions Regulator

  • The Statistics Board, publicly known as the UK Statistics Authority

  • Theatres Trust

  • Traffic Commissioners

  • Trinity House

  • UK Hydrographic Office

  • UK Space Agency

  • Valuation Tribunal for England

  • Valuation Tribunal Service

  • Veterinary Medicines Directorate

  • Water Services Regulation Authority (OFWAT)