Group calls for national strategy to counter ‘Britain’s biggest secret scandal’
The All Party Parliamentary Group on Children of Alcoholics has launched a manifesto calling for the government to create a national strategy to “break the cycle of this terrible disease” and properly to fund local support for children of alcoholics.
The APPG says that one in five children in the UK lives with a parent who drinks too much. Compared to other children, children of alcoholics are:
- twice as likely to experience difficulties at school;
- three times more likely to consider suicide; and
- five times more likely to develop eating disorders.
Worst of all, it says, children of alcoholics are also four times more likely to become alcoholics themselves – there is a cycle of alcoholism cascading down the generations. There is, says the APPG, a need to break the silence around “Britain’s biggest secret scandal”.
The APPG’s research confirms “a shocking picture of support for children of alcoholics”:
- None of the 138 respondent local authorities have a specific strategy for support for children of alcoholics.
- Almost no local authority is increasing its drug and substance abuse treatment budgets, despite the increases in alcohol-related hospital admissions.
- Of the 49 local authorities providing data on future treatment budgets, 70% (34 local authorities) are experiencing rising alcohol-related hospital admissions.
- Yet only 9% of these local authorities are increasing treatment budgets (three local authorities in total).
- Over a third are actually cutting treatment budgets (12 local authorities).
- The number of people accessing alcohol treatment varies widely, from 0.4% of a local authority’s estimated number of hazardous drinkers to 11%.
- There is huge variation in average drug and substance abuse treatment budgets for hazardous drinkers – from £6.61 a head on the Isle of Wight to £419.04 in Sefton.
- There is very little uniformity in the data provided by different authorities. Although a number of national measurement systems for alcohol misuse are available, these are not used by all local authorities.
Over the last year, the group has brought together policy makers, experts from charities, interest groups and medicine and children of alcoholics themselves, to create a manifesto. It sets out the 10 key points the government needs to address if children of alcoholics are to be properly supported and the rise in problem drinking halted.
The Government, it says, needs to:
- Take responsibility for children of alcoholics
- Create a national strategy for children of alcoholics
- Properly fund local support for children of alcoholics
- Increase availability of support for families battling alcohol problems
- Boost education and awareness for children
- Boost education and training for professionals with a responsibility for children
- Develop a plan to change public attitudes
- Revise the national strategy to tackle alcohol harm to focus on price and availability
- Curtail the promotion of alcohol – especially to children
- Take responsibility for reducing rates of alcohol harm.
For the manifesto, click here. For details of the APPG on Children of Alcoholics, click here.
16/2/17
