Lord Timpson (Lab)

My Lords, I know it is late, but it is important that I cover a number of very important points. I must begin by paying tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Foster. He has shown extraordinary tenacity and leadership in tackling gambling addiction and harms in the criminal justice system. I have certainly learned a lot from my conversations with the noble Lord on the subject and it is no exaggeration to say that, without his interventions, I would not have fully appreciated the importance and significance of gambling addiction in driving offending. I also reflect back on leading a business where, if I had been more aware of problems with gambling addiction, I could have supported colleagues in a better way. I can assure the noble Lord that this is now a personal priority of mine. I accept that there is more to do to ensure that there is parity of esteem between gambling addiction and more commonly recognised addictions such as to drugs and alcohol. This work must be done urgently and I have tasked my officials to get on with ensuring that this is taken forward. I am firmly committed to identifying offenders’ problems, whether they be drug, alcohol or gambling addictions, to ensure that they can access the support they need to help turn their lives around and reduce reoffending. But, although we agree wholeheartedly with the spirit of Amendment 95, we do not believe that legislation is needed. There are already multiple opportunities for an offender’s needs to be identified, including via pre-sentence reports. Staff are also encouraged to consider gambling-related risks in risk assessments and rehabilitation planning. To ensure a consistent approach throughout the criminal justice system, probation and prison staff use a single tool: the offender assessment system, OASys for short. I recognise that OASys provides minimal overt prompts to encourage them to take gambling harms and addiction into account, compared with drugs and alcohol addiction. However, a new tool known as ARNS is replacing this. An early version is now operating in four probation regions. To ensure we focus more closely on gambling, ARNS is already testing updated questions including: is the person affected by gambling? This is in the finance section. If the answer is yes, the tool automatically prompts for further details. Additionally, the new ARNS sentence plan, due to be rolled out nationally from March this year, already includes gambling-related rehabilitative goals for relevant individuals. However, I accept that such a question is probably not best placed in the finance section and we will review this, based on advice from experts in the field. The Government are committed to working with experts in the gambling sector as we develop, test and refine our approach this year. We have therefore invited a world-renowned expert on gambling addiction, Dr Matt Gaskell, to advise the ARNS project as a member of its academic expert group, and I am very grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Foster, for introducing us to him. We will collaborate with Dr Gaskell and the practitioners testing the tool to establish how to make it work, based on the evidence they present. We will take a proportionate and evidence-led approach in determining how and when assessments are completed. To confirm, I am committed to giving gambling addiction parity of esteem. Our approach will continue to evolve, guided by evidence and informed by expert advice to improve outcomes. I am excited to convene a gambling round table in the coming months, bringing together leading voices to share valuable insights. I am looking forward also to touring the country to speak to probation officers this spring and will share the importance of gambling addiction with them then. I also thank the noble Lord for tabling Amendment 99. As with Amendment 95, I agree entirely with the principle of supporting offenders to reduce reoffending. Many rehabilitative interventions are already available for individuals with a gambling addiction or disorder. These include support with thinking and behaviour, debt advice, relationships, homelessness and unemployment. Mutual aid groups such as Gamblers Anonymous also have a very important role to play. I recognise that there is more to do to improve access to mutual aid across the estate, not just for gambling but also for drugs and alcohol. It is a personal aim of mine to ensure that all prisons have weekly access to Gamblers Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings, and I want to work closely with these fellowships to achieve this. I am pleased that Gambling Anonymous is already operating in 11 prisons and I am sure that many prisoners benefit from its support. HMPPS has established a forum for mutual aid fellowships to help identify and tackle barriers to access. With the support of forum members, HMPPS has developed guidance for prisoners on facilitating access to mutual aid and is co-developing promotional materials. The forum includes Gamblers Anonymous and I am grateful for its ongoing support and collaboration. Recognising that there is more we need to do, we are working with health partners to ensure that pathways to treatment and recovery services are accessible for people in the criminal justice system. This includes support with thinking and behaviour, debt advice, relationships, homelessness and unemployment. We are working with health partners in the scoping and development of future work undertaken through the treatment strand of the gambling levy programme, which will be allocated 50% of funding from the levy. Funding from the statutory gambling levy will further bolster the support available, and the Government have committed to publishing an annual report on the progress of the levy. Pilots are already in place to strengthen treatment provision in criminal justice settings across both NHS and third-sector providers. NHS England is committed to building on these pilots to ensure treatment interventions are robust, effective and evidence led. It is working hand in hand with the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, which lead the prevention strand of the levy, to deepen our understanding of prevalence and inform future approaches to screening.