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Professionals working with parents who misuse alcohol are often ill-equipped to meet their children’s needs, a new report claims.

Charity Turning Point also found that many staff in children’s services lacked the skills to address parental alcohol misuse problems even where they affected children.

The report said direct services for parents who misused alcohol and their children had been “very slow” to develop.

Although five times as many children were affected by parental alcohol misuse than by drug misuse, services were focused on drugs.

The report urged the government to fund a national inquiry into the needs of children of alcohol-misusing parents.

It also suggested placing councils under a duty to develop local strategies on alcohol misuse services.

● From www.turning-point.co.uk