The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 4th November 2021:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government whether there are any gaming machines of any category as defined in the Gambling Act 2005 in any (1) catering, (2) retail, or (3) leisure facilities, in UK bases provided by the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about gambling machines on UK Armed Forces bases”On 2nd November 2021, the House of Lords debated the Armed Forces Bill in committee. The Bishop of St Albans tabled an amendment to the bill which would require that the Ministry of Defence conduct research into gambling related harm in the military, and stood as part of a group of amendments focused on mental health and wellbeing in the armed forces:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I declare my interest as a vice-chair of Peers for Gambling Reform. I rise to speak to Amendment 60 in my name. I tabled it because I am concerned that the Ministry of Defence is not taking gambling-related harm in the military community sufficiently seriously. On two occasions in response to my concerns in this area, the Ministry of Defence has stated that it has seen no evidence, or does not hold information, suggesting that serving personnel are more prone to problem gambling than any other group in society.
At the same time, it was disappointing to hear that evidence from the United States that suggested that serving personnel were more prone to problem gambling did not constitute an evidence base for the UK Armed Forces. This leaves us with a clear impasse, where the Government refuse to accept research from abroad but, at the same time, do not commit to researching whether there is a problem.
Continue reading “Armed Forces Bill: Bishop of St Albans tables amendment to mandate research into problem gambling and gambling related harm in the military”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 1st November 2021:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked what assessment they have made of the Forces in Mind Trust report The United Kingdom Armed Forces Veterans’ Health and Gambling Study, published on 23 September.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about results of the United Kingdom Armed Forces Veterans’ Health and Gambling Study”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 19th October 2021:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government, further to the recommendations of the Independent Review of the Regulation of BetIndex Limited, published on 13 September, what steps they are taking, beyond additional funding, to ensure that the Gambling Commission is better able to monitor and intervene in the case of novel gambling products.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about support for the work of the Gambling Commission”The Bishop of St Albans tabled a question for short debate on the topic of the recently published Gambling Related Harms Evidence Review on 14th October 2021:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the report by Public Health England Gambling-related harms evidence review, published on 30 September.
My Lords, I declare my interests as a vice-chair of Peers for Gambling Reform. I thank Public Health England and all those who worked on this review, which sheds light on the health impacts of gambling-related harms and quantifies the direct cost of gambling harms to the Government. The review concluded that 0.5% of our population were considered problem gamblers and 7% of the population of the UK are negatively affected by gambling. This is over 4 million people in England and over 5 million people across the UK as a whole, which is one in 12 people either directly or indirectly affected by gambling-related harms. This is a significant social problem.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans tables question for debate on gambling related harms”On 13th September 2021, the Bishop of Blackburn tabled a question on gambling disorders in the military on behalf of the Bishop of St Albans:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to legislate (1) to require annual medical screening questions related to gambling disorder in the military, and (2) to annually assess the prevalence of gambling disorder among members of the armed forces.
The Lord Bishop of Blackburn: My Lords, with the leave of the House, I ask the Question standing on the Order Paper in the name of my colleague the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans.
Continue reading “Bishop of Blackburn tables question on gambling in the military on behalf of the Bishop of St Albans”The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on the positive economic effects of instituting reform of the gambling industry on 29th June 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the report produced by NERA Economic Consulting for the Peers for Gambling Reform group Economic Assessment of Selected House of Lords Gambling Reforms, published on 26 May, what assessment they have made of the positive economic effects of implementing the recommendations of the Select Committee on the Social and Economic Impact of the Gambling Industry (HL Paper 79, Session 2019–21).
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about gambling reform”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 21st June 2021:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government, further to the announcement that the Belgium Gambling Commission will be running a gambling awareness campaign during this summer’s UEFA European Football Championship, what plans they have to advertise gambling support services during the tournament.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about plans for gambling awareness during upcoming UEFA tournament”The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on the impact of problem gambling in the Armed Forces on 15th June 2021, during a debate on support for members of the Armed Forces in their transition to Civilian Life:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, in the UK it is estimated that former Armed Forces personnel are eight times more likely to develop gambling problems than civilians. They suffer from higher rates of mental health issues and alcohol problems, factors which may feed into the higher rate of problem gambling. Will Her Majesty’s Government commit to surveying the gambling habits of serving personnel so that we can better provide for our military as they transition to civilian life?
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks for survey of gambling habits in former members of the Armed Forces”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 7th June 2021:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government, further to the study by Alan M Emond et al Gambling by young adults in the UK during COVID-19 lockdown, published on 18 April, what assessment they have made of the reported correlation between higher rates of gambling and COVID-19 lockdowns.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about links between COVID-19 lockdowns and higher rates of gambling”
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