Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Adebowale (Crossbench). It was answered on Monday, 26 June 2006.

Children: Parental Alcohol Use

Question: My Lords, I thank the Minister for that encouraging reply. Given that nearly five times as many children are affected by parental alcohol misuse as suffer as a result of parental misuse of illegal drugs, will the Minister consider setting up an inquiry to look into the issue?

Answer: My Lords, we look forward to discussing the report with the noble Lord, but at the moment we are not minded to set up an independent inquiry. I should point out that services in this area have improved. We are spending £270 million on specialist alcohol treatment services, and there are nearly 700 treatment services in England. The Department of Health is about to produce a national service framework on models of care for alcohol misusers. It will set out the framework for the commissioning and provision of interventions for adults affected by alcohol misuse, including the impact on children. We recognise the importance of further work in this area and believe that we are taking it forward.

Secondary information