United Kingdom: Funding to help improve the lives of those affected by alcohol (Excerpt)
£10.5 million funding awarded to local projects to support adults and children impacted by alcohol.
From Public Health England
December 4, 2018
A total of £10.5 million of funding is being allocated by Public Health England (PHE), to help improve the lives of adults and children impacted by alcohol, consisting of:
- £4.5 million innovation fund for local projects working with children and families
- £6 million capital fund to improve access to alcohol treatment in the community
A £4.5 million innovation fund, from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), managed by PHE, has today, 4 December 2018, been awarded to 9 projects across the country.
The winning projects have been selected for demonstrating a new and creative approach to reach and support families whose lives have been affected by alcohol.
In addition, PHE is announcing a call for bids for a share of a £6 million capital fund for local authorities, which can be used to improve services and facilities for people with alcohol problems. PHE is encouraging local authorities to submit an application to bid for money by 21 January 2019, with successful projects announced next spring and money being made available from 2019 to 2020.
It is estimated that there are 200,000 children in England living with 120,000 parents who have alcohol problems. PHE’s recent annual treatment statistics show that there were 16,000 adults receiving treatment for alcohol who were living with children and a further 18,000 who are parents but not currently living with their children. The figures show that the vast majority (82%) of children with parents receiving alcohol treatment weren’t receiving support from children’s social care.
The impact of having a parent with an alcohol problem on the lives of children can be devastating. An analysis of serious case reviews (where a child was seriously hurt or killed) found that 37% recorded alcohol as a contributing factor.
Alcohol is also often a major contributor to parental conflict, which can lead to a range of poor outcomes for children including being detrimental to their education and employment opportunities and harmful on their health. The government is committed to reducing conflict between parents and this funding forms part of a new ‘reducing parental conflict programme’ which encourages local areas across England to integrate approaches addressing parental conflict into local services for families.
Examples of areas awarded innovation funding are the Greater Manchester project which offers continued support for parents leaving prison and their children across 5 areas: Rochdale, Bolton, Bury, Salford, and Trafford; and in Portsmouth, where the project will provide a range of tailored services and interventions specific to individual families, including alcohol treatment, family counselling and support to reduce parental conflict.