- Beverley Hughes was asked what support DfES provides for children and families affected by alcoholism. She said DfES, Home Office and Dept of Health have:
agreed a joint approach to the development of universal, targeted and specialist services to prevent drug harm and to ensure that all children and young people are able to reach their potential. This will often cover a wide range of substances, including alcohol and volatile substances and is supported by a ring fenced budget—The Young People's Substance Misuse Partnership Grant.
On parental drinking, she said:
Arrangements for safeguarding children and promoting their welfare have been strengthened through the Every Child Matters reform. The Children Act 2004 places a duty on local authority children's services departments to protect children from significant harm, including from alcohol misusing parents......Local partnerships have used a range of funding streams to develop and support children and families affected by alcoholism, including the Adult Pooled Treatment Budget, Young People's Substance Misuse Partnership Grant, High Focus Area capacity building fund, Neighbourhood Renewal Funding and mainstream funding for children's services.
Adult PTB being spent on parental drinking? She appears to have got that wrong. The PTB is ring-fenced for drugs treatment and excludes alcohol. Hansard
- Caroline Flint said that the Dept of Health has 2.9 whole time equivalent posts for alcohol. Hansard Wonder what the corresponding number is for drugs - ie at the NTA.
- Ms Flint regularly gets asked about new funding to increase specialist alcohol treatment provision. This is the standard response:
Access to specialist treatment services is a matter for local primary care trusts (PCTs), who are responsible for improving the match of treatment provision they commission to the need of the local population for services. Information is not held centrally on local budgets. It is estimated that £217 million is currently being spent by PCTs on alcohol treatment. An additional £15 million has been allocated to all PCTs to improve alcohol services from 2007-08 onwards. Hansard
- In a written answer, the Dept of Health published figures for alcohol-related hospital admissions in the five London Strategic Health Authorities for 2002/03 to 2004/05. Download the table here; the number of patients admitted over that period has grown from 5,428 to 7,45.
Comments