Agenda item

The Panel considered the report of the Scrutiny Manager informing the Panel that, in accordance with the Inquiry Plan, at the fourth meeting of the inquiry the Panel will be considering the importance of early identification of those who have recently started to engage in at-risk gambling behaviour to prevent escalation of (and ideally reduce) any early-stage gambling-related harms.

Secondary prevention - Early identification of those who have recently started to engage in at-risk gambling behaviour to prevent escalation of (and ideally reduce) any early-stage gambling-related harms.

Summary of information provided:

1) Harmful Gambling and Tenancy Insecurity for Birmingham City Council Tenants – Dr Halima Sacranie, Director of Housing Research at the Centre for the New Midlands & Professor Andy Lymer, Director of the Centre for Personal Financial Wellbeing at Aston University

• A presentation was delivered by Dr Sacranie and Prof Lymer, outlining the key findings from a project with Birmingham City Council to understand the links between gambling harm and tenancy insecurity and the development of an intervention framework.

Key points raised in the presentation included:

• A 2-year Centre for Personal Financial Wellbeing (CPFW), Aston University, project with Birmingham City Council (BCC).
• Aim - Understand the links between gambling harm and tenancy insecurity and help develop intervention strategies to prevent tenancy loss as a result.
• Project cost £300k - Funded by the Regulatory Settlement Funds of the UK’s Gambling Commission (cost for other LAs to replicate this approach would be significantly lower).
• Harmful Gambling and Tenancy Security online survey sent to 57,333 BCC council tenants. 1,058 responses (226 said they were impacted by harmful gambling, 249 said they gambled personally, and 111 were identified though the questions as those who could be classed as problem gamblers) (2/3 respondents were female).
• Screening question: “Has your gambling or the gambling of someone close to you had a negative impact on your life?”
• Survey findings - 1 in 5 of tenant respondents affected by harmful gambling; 8 in 10 problem gamblers have borrowed money in the past 2 years to pay for their expenses, compared to 5 in 10 among the other gamblers; Over 50% of problem gamblers who tried to control or stop gambling did not receive any support. For those who received support, none received support from BCC; The main reasons that prevent problem gamblers or affected others from seeking support are ‘embarrassment’ and ‘shame’; Over 60% of problem gamblers mentioned physical or mental health issues caused by their gambling behaviours, compared to less than 6% among the other gamblers.
• Qualitative interview findings highlighted issues like the concentration of bookmakers in deprived neighbourhoods, the ease of gambling online and the exposure to TV and social media gambling advertising as well as heightened cultural stigma for women of different nationality backgrounds.
• Harmful Gambling leading to tenancy precarity - 4 in 10 problem gamblers currently in rent arrears, compared to 2 in 10 of the other gamblers (harmful gambling cited as main reason for rent arrears); 30% of problem gamblers say gambling spending reduced their ability to pay their council rent; 13.5% of problem gamblers received eviction notices; Affected others more likely to say the gambler gambles to make money for rent and their gambling had led to not being able to pay the rent, being given an eviction notice or becoming homeless.
• Birmingham City Council Interventions - 116 housing officers received harmful gambling awareness training; 8 BCC tenants (some with lived experience) received harmful gambling training; New harmful gambling webpages linked to cost-of-living support webpages created and widely advertised; Changes made to the Council’s housing management systems Northgate and TSS; A large set of data on the connections between harmful gambling and BCC tenants collected, analysed and provided to BCC for further use in developing and enhancing support to tenants.
• BCC Update, September 2024 - 14 new cases recorded on Northgate (system for tenants); TSS (for pre letting stage) has recorded 30 cases where tenants have said 'Yes' to ‘Has you're gambling or the gambling of someone close to you had a negative impact on your life at any time.’; 730 views on gambling webpages.
• BCC cost savings associated with statutory rehousing (eviction costs, temporary accommodation costs; void costs; reduction in homelessness)
• Key Reflections - Tenants unlikely to disclose harmful gambling to BCC because of risk perception it might jeopardise their tenancies; Lack of awareness about gambling support generally and specifically support from BCC; Changes made to frontline systems need internal buy-in from different housing service areas and referral pathways need to be built into existing modus operandi; Critical relationship with a local gambling support agency (Aquarius) for awareness, gambling training, and clear referral pathway; Regular harmful gambling training for frontline housing officers and training for tenants to create community champions to inform, empower, and engage; A dedicated harmful gambling officer role crucial to monitor interventions and tenant support.
• A Harmful Gambling Intervention Framework – Mapping interventions against tenant journey

2) Gambling Harm Prevention and Reduction in Yorkshire & the Humber – Simone Arratoonian,Health and Wellbeing Programme Manager, North East and Yorkshire Region at the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID)

• Simone Arratoonian delivered a presentation introducing the Gambling Harm Prevention & Reduction programme in Yorkshire and the Humber (Y&H). 

Key points raised in the presentation included:

• 3-year programme of activity plus support and guidance for LA gambling leads
• 2 broad aims of the programme: education, awareness and earlier access to support
• Against a backdrop of uncertainty about future direction of national gambling harms prevention agenda, fragmented treatment system, conflict of interest affecting evidence and industry-friendly framing of the issue.
• Learning which shaped Y&H approach:
  • PHE evidence review (2021) – it takes on average 10 years for people to seek treatment
  • Greater risk for some but harm occurs at multiple levels. Impossible to predict who is ‘vulnerable’. Gambling can harm anyone. Importance of population approach.
• Programme Outputs:
  • Insight into gambling behaviour and perceptions
  • Mapping of online gambling harm info sources – what good looks like
  • Development of regional marketing campaign ‘Gambling Understood’ (Aug 23 to Jan 24) – two phases – facts about products and industry tactics, spotting the signs/supporting each other to get help
  • Assessment of training needs, and development of independent training offer (Gambling With Lives) to support conversations and signposting. These online sessions aim to increase awareness and understanding of gambling-related harms and guide staff to have sensitive conversations and signpost, or refer to support. Working with local authority partners and services across the region, this will be available to key frontline staff in communities who may encounter people affected. Delivery of the pilot will begin in early 2024, and following assessment of training outcomes, should lead to further rollout.
  • Update of Y&H MECC gambling harms guidance to complement training offer
  • Development and launch of language guide – ‘Words can hurt’ (Feb 24)
  • Review and relaunch of GH prevention and reduction framework (Dec 24)
  • Workplace Health – The framework supports workplaces to introduce a gambling harms policy or guidance to support employees, including guidance for managers.
  • One of the six topic areas in the framework is strengthening the evidence base. It recognises that data is sparse but recommends that partners collect, analyse, use and share local data and look at what local Public Health commissioned services might be able to collect to inform need.

3) Reducing Gambling Related Harm – Kirsty Rowlinson, Chief Officer at Citizens Advice Southampton & Teresa Hadwick, Accredited Debt Caseworker

• Kirsty Rowlinson and Teresa Hadwick delivered a presentation informing the Panel about the extent to which harmful gambling is raised as an issue with Citizens Advice and the support provided by Citizens Advice to identify and signpost those experiencing gambling-related harms.

Key points raised in the presentation included:

• Last year, Citizens Advice (CA) helped almost 8,000 people in Southampton with over 27,000 problems. Gambling harms is encountered in all parts of the service.
• For every debt case that is opened, the CA database asks advisers to raise questions about gambling (screen). CA ask the question, CA check the bank statements, CA advise clients about effect of gambling on debt options, CA advise clients on what options can/can’t be offered whilst client is spending their income on gambling.
• Unsurprisingly, very few people admit that their gambling is a problem. Gambling problems usually emerge later down the line when bank statements are examined.
• Some people with gambling problems might have frequent cash withdrawals, with nothing to show for the expenditure. It’s a way of ‘hiding’ gambling expenditure.
• There are some indicators, but it takes experience and detective work to find out.
• What might not be harmful gambling for someone on a good wage, can be a huge problem for someone on a low income.
• Six part on-line training course is provided to advisers by National Citizens Advice. The training helps advisers to act on the gambling prompts on the Client Management System and use the referral tool to refer clients for specialist help.
• CA refer to GamCare - On occasions CA refer clients to their GP
• Asking about gambling in the right way is challenging due to stigma and judgement.
• Collecting data is challenging. Often coded as eviction and rent arrears rather than the route cause which may be gambling.
• Time required by CA to do it properly, but funding models limit the amount of gambling support they can offer.

4) Southampton City Council’s approach to identifying and supporting those experiencing gambling-related harms – Kate Harvey,Public Health Consultant, Maria Byrne, Service Lead for Housing Needs and Welfare Support, Jonathan Maunder, Senior Homeless Prevention Officer and Mark Pirnie, Scrutiny Manager

• Kate Harvey, Maria Byrne, Jonathan Maunder and Mark Pirnie provided a brief overview of the work currently being undertaken by Southampton City Council services to identify and support those experiencing gambling-related harms.

Key points raised included:

• Limited feedback from SCC services regarding activity employed to identify and support residents with gambling harms. Children’s Services refer and signpost on a case by case basis, or parents are encouraged to self-refer. The Conversation Model, introduced by Children’s Services in January 2025, may also assist in identification and support.
• Public Health Commissioner Services – Gambling is considered in assessments and reviews for Drug & Alcohol Services – Do you gamble? Do you want help?
• Lots of people receiving support from drug & alcohol services have gambling harms.
• The NICE Guidelines could help to increase focus on gambling harms and it provides an opportunity to implement the guidelines in services commissioned by Public Health moving forward.
• Homelessness Services do not ask questions about gambling, it is not recorded. It may be identified when bank statements are analysed. Referred to support following internet search as no referral pathway identified.
• Welfare Rights Service supports SCC tenants. No gambling harms statistics, screening questions or framework to refer to.
• A new Housing Strategy is currently being developed.  Opportunity to include identification and support for gambling harms across Housing Services.