I have welcomed a move by the Government to identify and support children living with alcohol dependent parents.
New plans announced today by Health & Social Care Secretary Jeremy Hunt will aim to identify children at risk more quickly and provide swift support and guidance.
Included is a package of measures that is backed by £6 million in funding from both the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Work and Pensions. The plans are designed to help an estimated 200,000 children living with parents dependent on alcohol.
The measures include:
- fast access to support and mental health services for children and their families where there is a dependent drinker
- quicker identification of at-risk children, including those undertaking inappropriate care responsibilities
- the provision of outreach programmes to get more parents successfully through addiction treatment
- early intervention programmes to reduce the numbers of children needing to go into care
Local authorities are also being invited to bid for funding by coming up with innovative solutions based on local need, with priority given to areas where more children are affected. Public Health England will be responsible for working with the funded areas to monitor progress.
The package of interventions, totalling up to £6 million, includes:
- a £4.5 million innovation fund for local authorities to develop plans that improve outcomes for children of alcohol-dependent parents
- £1 million to fund national capacity building by non-governmental organisations
The new funding follows government investment last year of £500,000 to expand national helplines for children with alcoholic parents.
Growing up with alcohol-dependent parents puts children at risk now and leaves them vulnerable in later life – that is why we need rapid action now to stop more damage being done.
I look forward to seeing the effect this funding will have on strengthening services and victims the support they so desperately need.
Health & Social Care Secretary Jeremy Hunt said:
"The consequences of alcohol abuse are devastating for those in the grip of an addiction–but for too long, the children of alcoholic parents have been the silent victims. This is not right, nor fair. These measures will ensure thousands of children affected by their parent’s alcohol dependency have access to the support they need and deserve. Some things matter much more than politics, and I have been moved by my Labour counterpart Jon Ashworth’s bravery in speaking out so honestly about life as the child of an alcoholic. I pay tribute to him and MPs with similar experiences across the House who have campaigned so tenaciously to turn their personal heartache into a lifeline for children in similar circumstances today."
The Health & Social Care Secretary has appointed a minister with specific responsibility for children with alcohol-dependent parents. Steve Brine MP will lead this work as part of his new role as Public Health Minister.
Mr Brine said:
"All children deserve to feel safe—and it is a cruel reality that those growing up with alcoholic parents are robbed of this basic need. Exposure to their parent’s harmful drinking leaves children vulnerable to a host of problems both in childhood and later in life—and it is right that we put a stop to it once and for all. I look forward to working with local authorities and charities to strengthen the services that make a real difference to young people and their families."