Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of revising existing (a) training and (b) national curriculum programs for staff within the (i) healthcare and (ii) social sectors to increase the understanding of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder; and if he will commission a public health awareness campaign on the condition for the general public.

There are no current plans to revise existing training and education, as there are already several mechanisms in place to increase understanding of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) amongst healthcare and social care staff.

For example, in 2022 the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published a FASD Quality Standard, at the request of the Department of Health and Social Care. The Quality Standard outlines several actions to be taken by service providers and healthcare professionals to improve assessment, diagnosis, and management of FASD.

In social sectors, to support continuous improvement of practice for child and family social workers, the Department for Education has developed the Post Qualifying Standards for child and family social work, which set out the skills and knowledge they need to protect vulnerable children and families. This includes children with complex needs, such as those with FASD.

There are no plans to commission a specific public health awareness campaign for FASD. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, NHS England and local commissioners continue to raise awareness and education on the dangers of drinking alcohol while pregnant and through midwives and health visitors. The Department of Health and Social Care already publishes guidance for communicating the United Kingdom’s Chief Medical Officers’ low risk drinking guidelines, which includes the risks associated with alcohol consumption in pregnancy.

Additionally, the Maternity Disparities Taskforce is producing guidance to support women to make healthy decisions when planning for pregnancy, which will include information on the risks of drinking while pregnant.