Jim Shannon

First, I wish you well in chairing Westminster Hall, Mr Turner. I thank the hon. Member for Halesowen (Alex Ballinger) for raising the issue. In the last Parliament, I was a vice chair of the all-party parliamentary group for gambling related harm, so there can be no doubt where I stand. I commend the hon. Member for Neath and Swansea East (Carolyn Harris), who is not here today, for all her work over the years to address gambling. Those of us who know her—she is still in Parliament, by the way—will know that she has done great work. The scale of harm in Great Britain is far more concerning than previously thought, with 2.5% of the population, nearly 1.3 million people, experiencing the most severe gambling harms. My comment for the Minister’s ears—and for everyone else; but she will direct it—is to ask whether she would discuss that issue with the Northern Ireland Assembly. The rate of gambling addiction in Northern Ireland is 2.3%, which is above the normal rate in Britain. Colleagues in the Northern Ireland Assembly held a debate on this subject at the end of January and they put forward a number of issues. Paul Frew MLA highlighted: “Some 80% of all gambling marketing activity is now on the internet.” That is where the grey area is and where we need to address the issue. He further said: “While online gambling operators licensed by the Gambling Commission can freely advertise in Northern Ireland, because online and broadcast advertising is a reserved matter, our population is afforded no protection by the regulator in GB”. Will the Minister look at that? In the last 12 months, 30% of 11 to 16-year-olds in Northern Ireland have gambled in one form or another. It is clear that the measures in place are not protecting our children from harm. The worst time is from midnight to 4 am. That is another issue we need to address. There is a need for greater regulation on the mainland and in Northern Ireland; we are simply crying out for any updated regulation and legislation to deal with the scourge of gambling. I have young men coming into my office with their mothers owing money left, right and centre to paramilitaries—that is one of our problems back home—and there are nearly always two reasons for that: drugs and gambling. We need to do something, particularly for people in areas of social deprivation who are looking for a way out and taking a chance on gambling, which only digs a deeper hole for them to try to get out of. That has to stop. In this great United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, let us do the job together.