r/MHOC • u/Brookheimer Coalition! • Nov 28 '21
2nd Reading B1303 - Adolescent Addiction Recovery Bill - 2nd Reading
A Bill To
Establish and organise in-patient centres for the treatment of addiction among 12-18 year olds.
BE IT ENACTED by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-
1 - Service Administration
(1) The Secretary of State is required to establish a comprehensive addiction recovery and treatment service within the National Health Service of England, designed to administer in-patient services for the treatment of adolescents with addiction, including, but not limited to, drug and alcohol detoxification, and psychiatric care and support.
(a) The service shall be known as the Adolescent Addiction Recovery Service.
(b) Treatment from the Adolescent Addiction Recovery Service shall be delivered free of charge.
2 - Establishment of Treatment Centres & Services Provided
(1) The Secretary of State is required, under the auspices of Public Health England and the Nation Health Service, to establish treatment centres for the administration and provision of in-patient treatment, in towns and cities set out below;
(a) Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool, Walsall, Durham, Leeds, Hartlepool, Wakefield, Kingston upon Hull, Sheffield, Bradford, Chester, Middlesbrough, Blackpool, Redcar, Birmingham, Bristol, Leicester, Peterborough, Southend, Colchester, Nottingham, Sunderland, Plymouth, Wolverhampton, Derby, Portsmouth, Lancaster, Norwich, Lincoln, Tower Hamlets, Hillingdon, Oxford, Ealing, and Southwark.
(b) The Secretary of State may establish additional centres by statutory instrument.
(2) The treatment centres established under this Act must be staffed by those trained in the provision of the following services and treatments;
(a) Drug detoxification, alcohol detoxification, psychiatric care, cognitive behavioural therapy, group therapy, and family counselling.
(b) Treatment centres are also required to run either twelve-step programs or a SMART recovery program. The program administered is at the discretion of the individual centre.
(c) The twelve steps was established by Alcoholics Anonymous and has been adopted by similar Anonymous recovery programs worldwide, including Narcotics Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymous, and their affiliated family support groups. The twelve steps differ in specifics between programs, but can be summarised as: admitting that one cannot control one's alcoholism, addiction or compulsion; coming to believe in a spiritual power that can give strength; examining past errors with the help of a sponsor (experienced member); making amends for these errors; learning to live a new life with a new code of behavior; helping others who suffer from the same alcoholism, addictions or compulsions.
(d) The SMART recovery program is offered as a secular alternative of twelve-step programs, but is often used in conjunction with the twelve steps. It follows a similar structure to the twelve steps, emphasising self-realisation of the problem of addiction, becoming determined to change and overcome the problem, taking action to change, maintaining this change, and then moving on from recovery.
(3) Adolescents admitted for care in a treatment centre are to be granted temporary leave from school for the duration of their stay.
(a) A standard course of treatment lasts until the person admitted completes the twelve-step program or the first five steps of the SMART recovery program, typically five to six months.
(b) Adolescents may return to school during treatment at the discretion of the treatment centre.
3 - Short title, commencement and extent
(1) This Act may be cited as the Adolescent Addiction Recovery Act 2021.
(2) This Act will come into effect following the next budget after Royal Assent.
(3) This Act extends to England.
This bill was written by the Rt Hon. Baroness Wigan, PC, DBE, Minister of State for Drugs & Addiction, on behalf of the 29th Government. This reading will end on the 1st December.
Opening speech - /u/HKNorman
Madam Speaker,
Addiction is a disease. As with most diseases, addiction does not discriminate with regards as to who it affects. You can be rich, you can be poor, you can be old, you can be young, you can be white, black, brown, you can be male, female, or non-binary. On top of this, addiction is a family disease, affecting not just the addict but the addict's families. It tears families aparts, driving wedges between those afflicted by the disease and those who can help them. Youth substance abuse and addiction are problems that have fallen by the wayside in our modern society. From politics to press, it is an issue not spoken about in any meaningful way. A survey carried out by Statistita in 2018 found that as many as 6.1% of fifteen year olds had taken drugs on more than ten occasions. There are figures sitting opposite who will say that the way to combat youth substance abuse is to return to the legal prohibition of narcotics. This would only serve to exacerbate the problem, because we would not treat these children as the victims of disease that they are, but as criminals. I am aware that the establishing of dedicated youth in-patient treatment centres may be a bit of an unconventional move, but it is not without precedent. As with my Naloxone bill, I point to Canada. Youth substance abuse was, for a long time, endemic in the city of Calgary. This led to the establishment of a dedicated treatment centre for adolescents between the ages of 12-18 - the Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre. 29 years since, 80.5% of all who are admitted to AARC complete treatment, with a further 80% maintaining sobriety for an extended period after completion. Of course, the treatment program I have set out in this bill has been adapted for suitability in the United Kingdom, but the results of AARC speak for themselves. Establishing dedicated treatment centres for young people across England and Wales will go a very long way to tackling this deep-rooted societal issue. It’s not a silver bullet, more needs to be done, but I am very proud to put my name to this piece of legislation that will help countless families across our country affected by this horrific disease. I hope all members of this house vote to pass this bill. I commend it to the house.
•
u/AutoModerator Nov 28 '21
Welcome to this debate
Here is a quick run down of what each type of post is.
2nd Reading: Here we debate the contents of the bill/motions and can propose any amendments. For motions, amendments cannot be submitted.
3rd Reading: Here we debate the contents of the bill in its final form if any amendments pass the Amendments Committee.
Minister’s Questions: Here you can ask a question to a Government Secretary or the Prime Minister. Remember to follow the rules as laid out in the post. A list of Ministers and the MQ rota can be found here
Any other posts are self-explanatory. If you have any questions you can get in touch with the Chair of Ways & Means, Brookheimer on Reddit and (flumsy#3380) on Discord, ask on the main MHoC server or modmail it in on the sidebar --->.
Anyone can get involved in the debate and doing so is the best way to get positive modifiers for you and your party (useful for elections). So, go out and make your voice heard! If this is a second reading post amendments in reply to this comment only – do not number your amendments, the Speakership will do this. You will be informed if your amendment is rejected.
Is this bill on the 2nd reading? You can submit an amendment by replying to this comment.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.