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Proceeding contribution from Bill Esterson (Labour) in the House of Commons on Thursday, 2 February 2017. It occurred during Backbench debate on Alcohol Harm.


Alcohol Harm

Yes, that is right. My right hon. Friend has described his experience before, and I am sure that he will say more later. Many people are affected by being children of alcoholics; I think that the issue is directly related and a similar concern and challenge. Poverty and inequality are clearly linked to the damage done by misuse of alcohol, and I am afraid that the group on which I am concentrating is one of the most affected in our society.

We heard in our inquiry about the lack of support. There is only one specialist clinic in this country to diagnose FASD—it is in Surrey, and is led brilliantly by Dr Raja Mukherjee, who gave evidence to our inquiry—but that simply is not good enough. If 35,000 children are affected every year, we need a lot more than one clinic to help diagnose them, because diagnosis is needed in order to ensure that support is available.


Secondary information

Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
620 c418WH 
Session
2016-17
Chamber / Committee
Westminster Hall
Subjects
Alcoholic drinks Families Health hazards Health education Prices Pregnancy Taxation Foetal alcohol spectrum disorder
Link
View this Proceeding contribution on hansard.parliament.uk