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<p>The government is committed to tackling gambling-related harms. While education
settings are not mental health or gambling-related harm specialists, they are well
placed to identify where a child or young person is struggling and help them to access
support, linking them to NHS support and specialist services as needed.</p><p>Where
gambling problems are affecting the mental health of young people, our programme of
Mental Health Support Teams and senior mental health lead training supports schools
and colleges to identify individuals in need of further support and make effective
referrals to external agencies, to help young people get appropriate, timely support.</p><p>The
department works closely with the higher education (HE) sector to promote and fund
effective mental health support for university students. £15 million of funding this
year from the Office for Students (OfS) will go to mental health support and the OfS-funded
Student Space continues to provide students with free online mental health resources
and confidential support on a range of topics, including addiction support. The OfS
has also brought together HE providers and NHS trusts across each region in England
to deliver better join up between university wellbeing support and NHS services.</p><p>Additionally,
schools, colleges and universities have access to the NHS webpage 'Help for problem
gambling'. This covers common indicators which could help identify whether individuals
may be experiencing gambling-related harm, as well as providing initial signposting
to the sources of support available to those in need<strong>. </strong>A link to the
webpage can be found here: <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/addiction-support/gambling-addiction/"
target="_blank">https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/addiction-support/gambling-addiction/</a>.</p><p>As
part of the NHS Long Term Plan commitment to expand geographical coverage of treatment
for those experiencing gambling-related harm, the National Problem Gambling Clinic
in London offers specialist treatment and support for children and young people.</p><p>The
government White Paper ‘High stakes: gambling reform for the digital age’, published
in April 2023, announced the introduction of a statutory levy on gambling operators
to fund the research, prevention and treatment of gambling-related harms. This presents
an opportunity to consider how best to improve awareness and understanding of gambling-related
harms amongst young people, and how to ensure availability of effective support across
all educational settings.</p>
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