Asked by: Lord Chadlington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for additional research to be undertaken about the residual neurological impact of rapid highs and lows from gambling, particularly in connection with the long-term effects on mental health.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
There are currently no plans to undertake research about the residual neurological impact of rapid highs and lows from gambling, particularly in connection with the long-term effects on mental health. However the Public Health Research programme, part of the National Institute for Health Research, is commissioning research on the effectiveness of interventions to prevent or reduce problem gambling. The deadline for applications to undertake this research was 24 July.
Asked by: Lord Chadlington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of people diagnosed with mental health problems caused by gambling-related harm.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The Government has not made any formal assessment of people diagnosed with mental health problems caused by gambling-related harm. We are currently developing a new version of the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) dataset to improve data collection in this area that we will use to capture gambling related mental health problems in the future. We are aiming to introduce the updated dataset by the end of 2019, which will also enable us to evaluate IAPT outcomes for people with gambling problems.
Asked by: Lord Chadlington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans are in place to increase the provision of services for gambling addiction, in particular in connection with mental health services.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Any decisions on the commissioning of effective treatment services are the responsibility of local commissioners, based on an assessment of local need.
NHS Choices offers information on a range of services to problem gamblers including those provided by GamCare, the Gordon Moody Association and Gamblers Anonymous. Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust has a national problem gambling clinic which accepts referrals from all over the United Kingdom including those with mental health problems.
Problem gambling can cause physical and mental health problems, including anxiety disorders and depression. The Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme began in 2008 and has transformed treatment of adult anxiety disorders and depression in England. Over 900,000 people now access IAPT services each year and the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health has pledged to expand services further to see a further one million more people treated for mental health problems every year by 2020 alongside improving quality. Although problem gambling is not listed amongst the provisional diagnosis categories that IAPT treats, IAPT practitioners would be able to treat common mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety which problem gamblers may present with.
Asked by: Lord Chadlington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the extent to which people aged 55 or over are increasingly experiencing harm caused by alcohol, and (2) the need to introduce a different intervention strategy to address the needs of those people.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Data on those experiencing alcohol harm, broken down by age, is not collected centrally. However, national estimates of the number of alcohol dependent adults in 2014-15 were published by the University of Sheffield in March 2017. They estimated that the number of adults aged 55 or over dependent on alcohol was 73,280.
The Government has no plans to introduce a different intervention strategy aimed at older people. Local authorities are responsible for commissioning effective drug and alcohol prevention and treatment services based on an assessment of local need. Public Health England (PHE) supports local authorities in this work, by providing bespoke data, value for money tools, topical briefings, and advice on good practice to help local authorities meet the needs of their local population, including older people.
PHE is engaged in a series of work programmes which aim to reduce the incidence of substance addiction and help provide support to older people, such as advocating the national roll out of an alcohol misuse screening question that has been part of the NHS Health Check since 2013. The NHS Health Check is offered to around three million 40-74 year olds per year.
In addition, the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers have produced new low risk drinking guidelines which provide the public with the latest information about the health risks of different levels and patterns of drinking. The guidelines enable people to make informed choices about their drinking. The UK Chief Medical Officers’ Low Risk Drinking Guidelines are attached.
Asked by: Lord Chadlington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to convene an advisory panel to develop substance misuse guidance, focused specifically on older adults; and what lessons they have learned from the Welsh Government regarding the benefits of such a panel.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs has a statutory duty to monitor drug misuse in the United Kingdom and provide advice to Government on measures to address this. The Government has no plans to convene a separate advisory panel to develop substance misuse guidance focused specifically on older adults. In 2017, Public Health England updated clinical guidelines for clinicians treating people with drug use problems, which contains a section addressing the importance of preventing and treating drug use problems in older people. The guidelines were developed by an expert group and are kept under regular review. A copy of Drug misuse and dependence: UK guidelines on clinical management is attached.
The Government has not held discussions with the Welsh Government specifically on the benefits of its advisory panel on substance misuse.
Asked by: Lord Chadlington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to measures to help older generations in England cut down alcohol consumption.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Local authorities (LAs) are responsible for commissioning effective drug and alcohol prevention and treatment services based on an assessment of local need. Public Health England supports LAs in this work, by providing bespoke data, value for money tools, topical briefings, and advice on good practice to help LAs meet the needs of their local population, including older people. In addition, the UK Chief Medical Officers have produced new low risk drinking guidelines which provide the public with the latest information about the health risks of different levels and patterns of drinking. The guidelines enable people to make informed choices about their drinking. The UK Chief Medical Officers’ Low Risk Drinking Guidelines are attached.
Asked by: Lord Chadlington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to reach and support people over the retirement age who are drinking more than the recommended weekly limits.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The UK Chief Medical Officers’ Low Risk Drinking Guidelines provide the public with the most up to date scientific information to help people make informed decisions about their own drinking. A copy of the Guidelines is attached.
Upper tier authorities have been given the responsibility to improve the health of their population. This includes responsibility for tackling problem drinking and commissioning appropriate prevention and treatment services. Over the next five years, we will invest more than £16 billion in local government public health services.
Public Health England (PHE) is also investing in, or otherwise supporting, a number of programmes to support people over the retirement age who are drinking more than the recommended weekly limits, including:
- The NHS Health Check which reaches adults aged 40-74 and includes an alcohol risk assessment. If found to be drinking above the lower-risk guidelines, patients are offered brief advice to encourage them to reduce their drinking.
- The One You website which offers advice and information about alcohol, and tools which help people monitor their drinking. These include:
- The interactive ‘How Are You?’ quiz which includes structured questions on alcohol consumption based on the short AUDIT C questionnaire and delivers personalised messaging, including information on units and tips to reduce consumption.
- The Drinks Tracker app – a mobile app designed to support users to accurately track their consumption, providing feedback on units and calories consumed and tips on ways to cut down.
- On Monday 14 November, PHE launched a web-based single occasion checking tool that will provide information and support to identify risk levels and reduce alcohol consumption.
NHS England’s NHS Five Year Forward View commits the National Health Service to support national action on alcohol. The National Commissioning for Quality and Innovation (CQUIN) payments framework was set up in 2009-10 to encourage services providers to continually improve the quality of care provided to patients and to achieve transparency. To help deliver their commitment to reduce harmful alcohol consumption, NHS England has published a CQUIN to incentivise interventions to reduce risky behaviours and prevent ill health through alcohol consumption. This has a number of components, including alcohol screening, brief advice and referral to specialist services.
Asked by: Lord Chadlington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of research published in BMJ Open on 25 October showing that, across a large number of countries, women are catching up with men in alcohol consumption and its associated harms and that this trend is most prevalent amongst young adults, what steps they are taking to support young people to limit their alcohol consumption.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
Education plays an important role in helping to ensure that young people are equipped
with the information they need to make informed, healthy decisions and to keep themselves safe.
Public Health England is working on a range of actions to support young people limit their alcohol consumption, including:
- Delivering the ‘Rise Above’ campaign which is a digital platform that uses interactive and engaging content to delay and prevent young people from engaging in exploratory behaviours, including drinking alcohol.
- Helping schools to draw on expert advice and develop evidence-based practice, including funding the Alcohol and Drug Education and Drug Education and Prevention Information Service, run by Mentor UK.
- Managing the FRANK information and advice service that provides tailored information and advice to young people and to parents, to help them protect their children from drug and/or alcohol misuse.
Upper tier authorities have been given the responsibility to improve the health of their population, including responsibility for tackling problem drinking and commissioning appropriate prevention and treatment services. Over the next five years, we will invest more than £16 billion in local government public health services.
Asked by: Lord Chadlington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what online resources are readily available for people struggling with alcohol misuse.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
Local authorities and their health and wellbeing board partners have responsibility for planning the full range of alcohol services, from early intervention and prevention, through to commissioning alcohol treatment services to meet need in their area and ensure services are accessible to everyone. Furthermore in line with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) public health guidance (PH 24) Alcohol-use disorders: preventing harmful drinking, Public Health England (PHE) encourages health and social care professionals to carry out Identification and Brief Advice through general practitioners and programmes such as NHS Health Checks and Making Every Contact Count. A copy of the NICE guidance is attached.
The majority of services offer interventions that are non-religious and are based on cognitive behavioural principles with motivational enhancement techniques.
There are a number of online resources to help with alcohol issues, including the One You and NHS Choices websites. One You is an integrated social marketing campaign run by PHE which aims to engage adults in making changes to improve their own health. This includes offering users advice and information about alcohol as well as tools which help monitor their drinking. NHS Choices offers a range of information about alcohol dependence and includes an on online directory of local alcohol services that those worried about their alcohol use can approach for assistance.
Asked by: Lord Chadlington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to provide non-religious support to people with alcohol misuse problems.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
Local authorities and their health and wellbeing board partners have responsibility for planning the full range of alcohol services, from early intervention and prevention, through to commissioning alcohol treatment services to meet need in their area and ensure services are accessible to everyone. Furthermore in line with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) public health guidance (PH 24) Alcohol-use disorders: preventing harmful drinking, Public Health England (PHE) encourages health and social care professionals to carry out Identification and Brief Advice through general practitioners and programmes such as NHS Health Checks and Making Every Contact Count. A copy of the NICE guidance is attached.
The majority of services offer interventions that are non-religious and are based on cognitive behavioural principles with motivational enhancement techniques.
There are a number of online resources to help with alcohol issues, including the One You and NHS Choices websites. One You is an integrated social marketing campaign run by PHE which aims to engage adults in making changes to improve their own health. This includes offering users advice and information about alcohol as well as tools which help monitor their drinking. NHS Choices offers a range of information about alcohol dependence and includes an on online directory of local alcohol services that those worried about their alcohol use can approach for assistance.