---

Welfare Reform Bill

My Lords, I declare an interest: I work for a national drug agency. I am hesitant to make any comment because it is purely coincidental that I am in the Chamber at this point. I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Kirkwood, that it is surprising to see this issue in this context. I have some little knowledge about the sufferings of men and women under these conditions. There is not enough co-ordination of services, and there are not enough centres of excellence, to address some of the problems that many of these sufferers already face, one of the main ones being stigma. Services are not co-operative because in many circumstances this is regarded as a self-inflicted wound, so the services that sufferers receive are already inadequate in many senses. I welcome this discussion. Drugs and drug rehabilitation have been far from the mainstream agenda for a long time, but they affect the most vulnerable people in our communities—not only the individuals who are suffering but their families. There is some good work in progress up and down the country, run by various national organisations, looking at the drastic impact of this on families, but that has not yet been taken on board. I hear all the arguments about why there should be some punitive measures but I am concerned about the idea. I hope that my noble friend will take that on board and urge officials and staff in the services to be cautious; there is still not enough information and training within the workforce about supporting substance misusers.