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Written question asked by Lord Laird (Ulster Unionist Party), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Earl Howe (Conservative) on Monday, 3 October 2011.

Health: Alcoholism

Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether an assessment has been made of the likelihood of rehabilitation of chronic alcoholics; whether research is planned to establish whether benefits above the basic level paid to them in respect of concomitant disabilities are currently spent on alcohol; and whether a review of general policy in this area will be undertaken.
Answer

The term ““chronic alcoholics”” is not one that is used by the department, although we recognise that there are varying levels of alcohol dependence. The Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2007 indicated that in 2006-07 there were around 1.6 million adults showing symptoms of moderate or severe alcohol dependence. Of those, 111,381 people are estimated to have received treatment as indicated in the National Alcohol Treatment Monitoring System Annual Report 2009-10. This shows that 7 per cent of adults showing signs of dependence accessed treatment in that year. This compares to international models of good practice that suggest between 10 per cent and 20 per cent of the dependent population should be able to access treatment in any one year. The Review of the Effectiveness of Treatment for Alcohol Problems, published by the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse on November 2006, indicated that over 25 per cent of clients who participated in the United Kingdom Alcohol Treatment Trials, one of the largest treatment trials conducted in the UK, showed a successful outcome with no alcohol-related problems at follow-up. All the treatments studied produced significant improvements in alcohol consumption, alcohol dependence, alcohol-related problems and aspects of general functioning. It is highly unlikely that in most cases such changes would have occurred as a result of natural recovery processes. While a person's dependence may have led to unemployment or may have caused or exacerbated a medical condition, benefit payments are never made, or paid at an increased rate, solely because a person is dependent on drugs or alcohol. Where additional disability benefits are paid, this is in recognition of the fact that there are often additional costs associated with disability such as transport or care costs. The Government do not monitor what individuals spend their benefits on. The Government are reviewing the general policy towards the prevention and treatment of alcohol misuse in this country, and we will publish the Government's alcohol strategy towards the end of this year.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
11715; 730 c112WA
Session
2010-12
Related items
Benefits
Monday, 17 October 2011
Written questions
House of Lords
Notes
Answer received between Thursday 15 September and Monday 26 September 2011.
Subjects
Alcoholic drinks Misuse Social security benefits Rehabilitation Research
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk