By Alex Klaushofer
Government proposals to cut benefits for people with alcohol problems have been dismissed by experts as unworkable.
Government proposals to cut benefits for people with alcohol problems have been dismissed by experts as unworkable.Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell announced on April 14 that the government is to commission research into the practicalities of getting claimants with alcohol problems to agree to attend a treatment programme or lose their benefits.
The news follows increasing attempts by government to make benefits conditional on behaviour as part of its welfare to work strategy. The DWP is already piloting a programme in which drug users are required to undergo treatment in return for their benefits.
‘We can’t abandon anyone to long periods on benefits without help to overcome problems,’ Purnell said on a visit to Dewsbury in Yorkshire. ‘That’s why we are going to look at the arrangements for alcoholics on benefits, just as we did for problem drug users, so people get the help they need to get sober, to get their life back and get back to work.’
But Alcohol Concern chief executive Don Shenker told Public Finance that the proposals were ‘misguided and unworkable’. ‘It’s misguided because people with alcohol problems require financial stability when they are having treatment,’ he said. Even successful treatment was followed by a period of aftercare, he added: ‘You don’t finish rehabilitation and go back to work straightaway.’
Other problems in implementing the proposals are likely to include the difficulty of defining an alcohol problem, and the shortage of state-funded treatment places.
‘I think when it comes down to it, they will find it difficult,’ he said. ‘How are jobcentre staff going to identify people with alcohol problems? They won’t be able to find treatment places.’
Turning Point’s director of substance misuse, John Mallalieu, echoed those concerns. ‘Sanctions could deter some people from seeking help for fear of losing their benefits. In practice, Jobcentre Plus advisers might not have the training to identify people who need access to treatment,’ he said.
‘A proposal like this will work only if there is a treatment place available,’ he added. ‘Unfortunately, the availability of alcohol treatment services is currently extremely patchy.’
The Alcohol Needs Assessment Project, which was commissioned by the Department of Health to examine the gap between the needs of those with alcohol problems and the provision of treatment in England, showed that only 1 in 18 people found the places they were seeking in 2005.
Availability of treatment places varies around the country, with only 1% getting care in the Northeast. Around 1.1 million people have an alcohol problem in England, the study estimated.
