The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 21st November 2022:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government when the Gambling Act white paper will be published.
Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con): The Gambling Act Review is an extensive, evidence-led review, which aims to ensure gambling regulation is fit for the digital age. We will publish a White Paper setting out our conclusions and next steps in the coming weeks.
The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 18th November 2022:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government how many more NHS gambling clinics are being planned; and where those clinics will be situated.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about NHS gambling clinics”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 17th November 2022:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government how many patients have been treated in the NHS gambling clinics in (1) London, (2) Leeds, (3) Manchester, and (4) Sunderland, in the past year.
Lord Markham (Con): This information is not currently collected in the format requested.
The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 16th November 2022:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government how many young people have been treated in the NHS national children and young person’s pilot gambling clinic in the past year, broken down by (1) age, and (2) the region of the country they live in.
Lord Markham (Con): This information is not collected centrally in the format requested.
On 28th October 2022, the Bishop of St Albans brought a revised version of his Coroners (Determination of Suicide) Bill before the House of Lords for its second reading. The Bishop of Exeter spoke in support of the bill. The bill was read and sent to a Committee of the Whole House:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: That the Bill now be read a second time.
My Lords, I declare my interest as a vice-chair of Peers for Gambling Reform.
I am glad to bring before the House the Coroners (Determination of Suicide) Bill, now in its third iteration. This latest version is significantly different from the previous two; it has taken on board many of His Majesty’s Government’s criticisms and attempted to resolve them. Indeed, the Minister who dealt with the Bill in the previous Session, the noble Lord, Lord Wolfson of Tredegar, had hoped to speak today from the Back Benches but has to be in court. He has, however, given his permission to say that he supports the aims of the Bill. Because we have tried to respond to the points made by the Government, I will listen attentively to the Minister as he outlines their response, given that I believe their concerns have largely been dealt with.
The genesis of the Bill is the frustration that many of us in your Lordships’ House have felt when we have tried to bring in sensible reforms to the Wild West of online gambling, which is causing untold suffering in communities across our nation. More than a third of a million adults in our country are now diagnosed with a gambling addiction. More than 62,000 teenagers, who in law are not even allowed to gamble, have been diagnosed with a gambling problem. With an estimated more than 400,000 suicides every year due to problem gambling, we need to address this problem in a sensible way. On a number of occasions when I and other noble Lords have raised the issue in the House, the Government have resisted our attempts to bring some order to this sector, simply claiming, “We don’t understand the size of the problem.” The Bill is a proposal for one way of obtaining more data.
Continue reading “Coroners (Determination of Suicide) Bill: Bishop of St Albans sets out proposals; Bishop of Exeter supports”
The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 5th September 2022:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government:
The Bishop of St Albans asked the following question during a debate on the Gambling white paper on 20th July 2022:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I declare my interest as a vice-president of Peers for Gambling Reform. We should be shocked at the statistics that the noble Lord, Lord Foster, gave—60,000 young people not just gambling but addicted to gambling.
How many children who should not be gambling at all are caught up in this? This is damaging lives and families every day of the year. Surely we need to take some firm action, such as addressing this ubiquitous advertising on sports occasions which is normalising gambling instead of encouraging people simply to participate and enjoy sport for its own sake. When will the Government take some action on this?
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks a question on children addicted to gambling”
The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 18th July 2022:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked her Majesty’s Government how many people were subject to a Mental Health Treatment Requirement (MHTR) as part of a (1) community, or (2) suspended, sentence order due to a serious gambling addiction for each year since their introduction in 2005.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks a question regarding mental health care for gambling addiction”On 7th June 2022, The Bishop of St Albans introduced his Coroners (Determination of Suicide) Bill on its first reading:
‘A Bill to require the coroner, following an inquest, to record an opinion as to the relevant factors in a case of death by suicide; and for connected purposes.‘
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, in moving the Bill, I declare my interest in the register as a vice-president of Peers for Gambling Reform.
The Bill was introduced by the Lord Bishop of St Albans, read a first time and ordered to be printed.
The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 17th May 2022:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for introducing a mandatory levy on gambling firms to help fund an expansion of treatment and support services for those experiencing gambling related harm.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about gambling”
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