Thank you for your statement, Cabinet Secretary, and I would like to add my thanks to Dr Atherton for his second annual report as chief medical officer. I'm pleased that Dr Atherton has opted to use his annual reports to shine a spotlight on growing public health challenges. Last year, he singled out the health inequalities that exist between those living in our most and least deprived areas, and this year he has focused on gambling.

When you consider the major public health challenges facing our nation, such as obesity and drug, alcohol and tobacco addiction, these are well known and well understood. Problem gambling, or rather the public health implications of problem gambling, aren’t as well understood. Whilst there have always been problem gamblers, we are starting to see them in greater numbers. It is therefore welcome that Dr Atherton has drawn attention to this issue now.

In 2005, the Labour Government, under Tony Blair’s stewardship, undertook the biggest deregulation of gambling our nation has seen. This led to an explosion in online betting. With tv ads for gambling now permitted, you can’t escape prime-time adverts for online casinos and bingo.

It is now much easier than ever before for young people to gamble. A recent Gambling Commission survey found an increase in students who gamble, with two out of three gambling, many online. This finding led the Gambling Commission to produce advice to universities, encouraging them to provide information and support about potential gambling-related harm to their students—much as they do for drugs, alcohol, and safer sex.

As Dr Atherton highlights, 1.5 million of us gambled in the past 12 months. Whilst there is nothing wrong with the occasional flutter on the grand national, or buying a lottery ticket once in a while, the sheer ease of access makes it easier for gambling to become problem gambling.

I welcome Dr Atherton’s recommendations for the need to conduct further research. We need to fully understand the risks and the harms, and develop evidence-based policy that balances the social benefits of gambling against the harms related to problem gambling. Cabinet Secretary, could you outline what action you are taking to implement Dr Atherton’s recommendation for further research into the impact of problem gambling? How do you intend to balance the need to take action to target problem gambling without impacting on an adult’s ability to gamble responsibly? Finally, Cabinet Secretary, how will you involve the Assembly in the development of an evidence-based policy approach on tackling problem gambling?

Thank you once again for your statement and to Dr Atherton for his latest report. I look forward to working with you to develop a balanced approach to this and other emerging public health issues. Diolch yn fawr. Thank you.