Charities shocked that so little is being done to deal with parental alcohol misuse

A national inquiry is needed to examine the impact of parental alcohol misuse on children, two charities have warned at the beginning of Alcohol Awareness Week.

Swept Under The Carpet, a report by Alcohol Concern and The Children’s Society, is calling for the inquiry, after a survey commissioned by the charities found high levels of public concern over harmful drinking among parents.

In a poll of 1,000 adults carried out in July, 87 per cent of those surveyed thought heavy drinking by parents had a negative impact on children and families and 84 per cent thought parents misusing alcohol is as harmful to children as parents who use drugs.

Research also shows 2.6 million children live with a parent whose drinking puts them at risk of neglect and 705,000 live with a dependent drinker.

Alcohol Concern chief executive Don Shenker said: “It’s shocking that in spite of the worrying numbers of children affected by parents’ heavy drinking and domestic abuse, so little is being done to address this. The whole system sweeps the problem under the carpet and together with the secrecy and stigma involved, millions of children are left to do their best in incredibly difficult circumstances. A government inquiry must look into all aspects of parental alcohol misuse so that we can improve outcomes for these children.”

The report was launched at the House of Lords today and called for mandatory social work training after research found one-third of social workers received no training on alcohol or drugs and half received just three hours of training or less.

Alcohol Concern and The Children’s Society say a national inquiry into the scale of harm and impact on society could force local areas to act quicker to protect children.

Bob Reitemeier, chief executive of The Children’s Society, said: “I cannot stress strongly enough the harmful impact that substance abuse can have on both children and whole families. It is imperative that everyone understands these risks and we believe that education is the key. We are calling on the government to make sure that everyone who needs either training or education to deal with parental substance abuse is given the appropriate assistance.”

More than 100 children as young as five contact ChildLine every week with worries about their parents drinking.

Chair of the British Association of Social Workers Special Interest Group in Alcohol and other Drugs Dr Sarah Galvani added: “Problematic alcohol use by parents is highlighted by social workers as far more prevalent than drug use. Alongside the overlapping experiences of domestic violence and mental ill health, parental alcohol and other drug use are the three factors that repeatedly put children at risk of serious harm.

“We must support social workers to work as best they can in what are often very complex and challenging situations. This starts with excellent training in these issues at qualifying and post-qualifying levels, which currently is lacking.”