Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 2:51 pm on 3 July 2019.
Yes, I am aware of the announcements that have been made for the specialist provision. We already, actually, do refer some people into specialist provision across the border. I agree with the broad point the Member makes that, actually, a voluntary levy I think is unlikely to deliver the sort of responsible behaviour that we wish to see or, indeed, the resource. That isn't a view that is only held by people in our party; you'll recall that the then Minister, Tracey Crouch, resigned on a point of principle because the Government were not proposing to take forward measures on fixed-odds betting terminals. They subsequently did that, and, again, that was work across parties, with Carolyn Harris from my own party and others doing the work. So, there is a broader recognition in more than one part of the UK and in more than one party that this is a real challenge across society.
There is work that is going on between the different health departments. The chief medical officer continues to lead work on this, following his report last year. There's regular engagement between him and both GambleAware and the Gambling Commission. I think it might be helpful for those Members—and I know they're in more than one party—who are interested in an update, if I were to arrange for the chief medical officer to provide an update on the work that's already been done and what that looks like, and then have a further report back on any further progress that is potentially being made on the issue of a compulsory levy, because my own personal view is that, without a compulsory levy, we won't see the sort of behavioural change of people who provide gambling opportunities and environments and, indeed, the resource that should come in to deal with the real harm that is caused.FootnoteLink