The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 2nd April 2025:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of findings published on 18 March by the City of York Council, Next Generation York: the health of adolescents in our city, particularly that 16 per cent of young people had gambled, and of those 25 per cent took money to gamble without permission, and 14 per cent had conflicts with family or friends over gambling.
Baroness Merron (Lab, DHSC): We are committed to reviewing the best available evidence from a wide range of sources and working with all stakeholders in order to ensure there are robust protections in place to protect those at risk of gambling related harm, particularly children and young people.
The Government uses a wide range of sources to inform our understanding of children and young people’s gambling behaviour and harm in Great Britain, such as the 2024 Young People in Gambling(opens in a new tab) Report. The department has noted the findings of the Next Generation York report from the City of York Council.
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 10 March (HL5185):
- how many of the 1,010 full-time equivalent employees working for the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities will be tasked with working on the prevention of gambling harms under the gambling statutory levy.
- how many of the 1,010 full-time equivalent employees working for the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities are working on problem gambling and gambling harms.
Baroness Merron: There is currently a project team of four working directly on the establishment of the gambling prevention commissioning programme of work, within the wider Alcohol and Gambling policy team. The team also draws on analytical, financial, and legal specialists from across the Department to support policy development. As work progresses on the development of the future approach to prevention, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities will consider any additional resource requirements.
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government:
- what plans they have to introduce restrictions on the flavours and packaging of nicotine pouches.
- what steps they are taking to tackle the rise in illegal high-strength nicotine pouches.
Baroness Merron: Data from August 2024 by ASH suggests that 1.2% of children aged between 11 and 18 years old currently use nicotine pouches. The Government is concerned that these products, just like vapes, are being branded and marketed to appeal to children through colourful packaging and flavours. There is currently no set nicotine limit for nicotine pouches, and nicotine strengths vary from two milligrams per pouch to as high as 150 milligrams per pouch.
That is why, through the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, we are banning the advertisement and sponsorship of these products, introducing age of sale restrictions to people aged 18 years old for nicotine pouches, banning free samples, and providing powers to restrict packaging, flavours, and point of sale displays.
These powers will also allow the Government to limit the amount of nicotine in a pouch, as well as ban any other ingredient that might be harmful in a pouch. We will therefore be able to regulate, subject to consultation, to ensure that nicotine pouches are limited to an appropriate strength.
We will consult on these regulations as soon as possible once the bill has received Royal Assent.
The Church of England in Parliament 
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