§ Mr. Roy HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what estimates he has as to the number of children under 18 years who are addicted to playing fruit machines;
(2) what estimates he has as to the number of children under 16 years who are addicted to playing fruit machines.
§ Mr. John Patten[holding answer 24 October 1988]: The information requested is not available. The research carried out in 1987 by the Home Office research and planning unit ("Amusement Machines: Dependency and Deliquency", Home Office Research Study No. 101) does not estimate the number of young people addicted to amusement-with-prizes (fruit) machines. The report estimates the extent to which young people under the ages of 17 may be at risk of becoming dependent upon the playing of these machines, using three indicators of risk. These are described and the results set out in full in chapter 4, showing that only a small minority of players appear to be at any risk of dependency.