SNP MP: White paper delay is costing lives
Peter Grant hits out at government for perennially delayed white paper as Minister again insists it will be published in “coming weeks”
The UK government has been lambasted by an opposition MP for failing to have delivered the much-anticipated white paper review into the Gambling Act 2005 in a timely fashion.
SNP MP Peter Grant was speaking during a Business of the House debate in which he called on the Leader of the House of Commons Mark Spencer to give assurances on the white paper’s publication.
The white paper has been significantly delayed, with the latest reports claiming it will be released mid-July, just before parliament heads for its summer recess on 21 July.
Last month, the government insisted the white paper would arrive in the “coming weeks” but further delays since then have continued to provoke ire among politicians, campaigners, the industry and the public.
Grant said the excuses for the delayed publications failed to stand up to “any scrutiny” and implored the government to either publish the paper, or bring the bill to Parliament for debate.
Grant said: “It is now 462 days since the end of the consultation on the government’s proposed reform of gambling legislation. Five hundred people have taken their own lives as a direct result of problem gambling since then, and today someone else will take that tragic way out.
“I have heard the reasons and excuses for the delay in publishing the white paper, but, frankly, none of those excuses stands up to any scrutiny. Can the Leader of the House give us an assurance that the white paper will be published at the very latest before the start of the summer recess?
“Can I urge him to advise his cabinet colleagues, if the cause of the delay is that they cannot agree, to bring a bill to this House and let Parliament do its job, rather than whipping their back benchers to do something they may not want to do? Every day’s delay costs another human life,” he added.
In response, Spencer remained evasive, similar to that of his fellow government ministers, and would not be drawn on providing a date of publication.
Instead, the MP for Sherwood returned the “coming weeks” line, which had been previously ridiculed by MPs and the public.
“We do want to make sure that we get the right balance between respecting freedom of choice and preventing harm,” Sherwood said.
“In the coming weeks we will publish the white paper, which will set out our vision for the sector, but I am sure the relevant Ministers will have heard [Grant’s] comments,” he added.