Alcohol Policy UK

First prison alcohol treatment programme wins award

The Rehabilitation for Addicted Prisoners Trust (RAPt) has won accreditation for its alcohol dependency treatment programme, awarded by the Correctional Services Accreditation Panel. The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) funded RAPt in 2006 to develop a programme for alcohol-dependant offenders in HMP Bullingdon. Whilst there has been significant investment in drug treatment in prisons, the alcohol specific treatment programme is the first of its kind. A release on the Addiction Today site indicated significant  successes through preliminary findings  including:

• Most men accessing the programme are in custody for violent offences connected to their alcohol use
• The programme can substantially reduce offenders’ risk of re-offending
• Participants show increased awareness of the impact of their crimes on their victims
• After treatment, 77% of participants rated their risk of relapse as low or very low
• Participants completing the programme continue to access support to help them stay sober and avoid the risk of re-offending on release

Minimum pricing for alcohol? The debate hots up..

As Government ministers consider options for setting minimum prices on alcohol, the debate is hotting up amongst the industry and public alike as to whether such a move would make any difference, or is  politically acceptable. This month the Daily Telegraph suggested that preparations to bring in minumum pricing are underway.  However it understood that minsters are still only considering such options and awaiting further reviews as to the effectiveness and impacts of such policies.

The government would be required to make an exception to the Competition Act of 1998 which would require "exceptional and compelling reasons for public policy". The Office of Fair Trading has indicated that this would be possible given the extent of alcohol realated harm in the UK and the criticism surrounding supermarkets for continuing to sell alcohol as 'loss leaders'.  Naturally the idea is not short of critics.  Rehearsing the familiar arguments against price rises, Gavin Partington of the Wine & Spirit Trade Association, in an artcicle published in Off license News said:

“If pricing was an issue then why aren’t there more problems in other countries with lower taxes on alcohol?

We’ve never denied there’s a problem with alcohol abuse, but it’s a minority of people. The vast majority, who drink sensibly in the comfort of their own homes, should not be punished.”

A page on the BBC website titled Should there be a minimum price for alcohol? also attracted a large volume of comments with a wide range of views.

 

Impact of parents' alcohol dependency on children: new report

Alcohol Concern have jointly produced a report with the Princess Royal Trust for Carers on the impact of parental alcohol dependency on children. The report, titled 'Keeping it in the family' estimates that around one million children currently live with a parent who is alcohol dependent. Looking at a range of research and findings the document considers the serious impact of parental alcohol misuse including long term psychological damage and a range of other pressures put on children, such as being forced into taking the role of carers themselves. It argues that there are not enough services currently available to support young carers or alcohol dependent parents. Don Shenker, Chief Executive of Alcohol Concern said:

"Alcohol misuse affects not just the drinker, but the family around them. Many children can just about cope, but for others, their parents’ drinking can lead to feelings of isolation, guilt and poor performance at school. Alcohol policies have barely begun to address this issue and treatment services must now have better support and funding to help both parents and their children recover from alcohol abuse. There’s also a real need to ensure that those working in the wider social care system are equipped to identify cases where parental misuse is affecting the quality of family life and that there are clearer protocols in place to help them co-ordinate support with the alcohol treatment sector where that is appropriate."

For more information or to request a copy of the report, please contact Frank Soodeen at the Alcohol Concern Press Office on 0207 264 0514 or 07866063013, or email franks@alcoholconcern.org.uk

Alcohol Concern report: The extent of local alcohol commissioning?

Alcohol Concern have released The Poor Relation - has the emphasis on 'localism' really improved alcohol commissioning, which sets out the findings from Freedom of Information requests asking PCTs for data on a number of key alcohol spend indicators including:

• Spend on alcohol treatment  for 07/08 (and whether the £15 million Choosing Health money was used locally or not)
• Data on waiting times for accessing alcohol treatment
• The percentage of dependant drinkers in treatment
• Whether trusts had any information about hazardous, harmful and dependant drinkers

Nearly 40% of the trusts were not able to return the questionnaire but the report provides a compelling analysis of the extent of investment into alcohol treatment and of the changes to commissioning structures and the devolving of decisions to local level.  The report points out that 'MoCAM and other Department of Health related guidance have not improved alcohol commissioning or treatment provision at the local level.'  There is still a 'postcode lottery' concerning alcohol treatment, with huge variations in spend and provision across the country.

  The report recommends that:

• the local Pooled Treatment Budgets (for drug treatment) should include the funding of alcohol treatment where required in addition to existing PCT or local authority alcohol spend
• the Department of Health should set an optimum level of access for alcohol treatment, reducing the current national average of 1 in 18 to around 1 in 7
• the Department of Health should consider requiring local commissioners to reduce alcohol treatment waiting times to those for drug treatment, since alcohol treatment data must now be submitted to the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS)
• PCTs should make better cases for investment in alcohol treatment
• Strategic Health Authorities should ensure their local PCTs are meeting local alcohol treatment needs through key agendas and commissioning structures including Standards for Better Health

New report: Binge Drinking and Europe

The Institute of Alcohol Studies have released a new report, Binge Drinking in Europe. The comprehensive document considers the picture of binge drinking in Europe, its impact, and recommendations on how it should be addressed. The report is particularly pertinent when considering regulation on marketing and availability, which the Prime Minister Gordon Brown is set to make further announcements on this year. The report also examines the role of education, health care interventions and the cost effectiveness of various approaches to addressing binge drinking.

Home Office announces 44,000 pints seized from underage drinkers

A Home Office Press release announces the results of a recent clampdown on underage public drinking. MP Vernon Coaker announced that over 20,000 litres of alcohol had been taken in the recent half term campaign involving 39 police forces. The following findings were posted:

• 25 per cent of the 5,143 youngsters who surrendered alcohol to the police said they were aged 15 or under
• a total of 23,621 youngsters came into contact with the police when alcohol was confiscated
• 3,585 directions to leave were issued
• of the 30 per cent who divulged where they had sourced their alcohol, half said they had bought it from a shop.

Mr Coaker commented:

'I know the public will welcome police action to disperse groups of threatening youths and choke their supply of alcohol. This campaign will not be the last.       

I also want to remind parents of their responsibility and where poor parenting is identified as an issue I want to see greater use of parenting contracts to tackle persistent underage drinking.  I also want to see greater sharing of information between police and local agencies about repeat offenders to address problems as early as possible.       

'Police officers tell me that these campaigns yield valuable intelligence about where children get their alcohol. With this in mind, I want to send a strong signal once again to those persistent few irresponsible retailers that deliberately sell to under-18s. They will be caught and they will be punished. I also want to congratulate all the officers involved in what was clearly a successful campaign for their hard work and dedication.'

An article in the Guardian on the campaign said that 'the initiative was a response to growing concerns about a perceived binge drinking culture in Britain, particularly among youths.'

National Indicator set definitions released

The definitions for the National Indicators have been released by the Department for Communities and Local Government.  Definitions are provided for the 198 National Indicators, 185 of which came into force on the 1st of April 2008.  Local Strategic Partnerships should by now know which indicators they will set as key improvement targets (up to 35) as part of their Local Area Agreements (LAAs).

The new national indicators will be the only means of measuring national priorities that have been set  by the Government.  For alcohol, the key indicators are as follows:

• NI 39 Alcohol-harm related hospital admission rates
• NI 41 Perceptions of drunk or rowdy behaviour as a problem
• NI 115 Substance misuse by young people

A further indicator is associated with alcohol:

• NI 20 Assault with injury crime rate

However alcohol factors into many of the other indicators, with at least another 50 having a direct link with alcohol misuse.  Local partnerships are urged to consider the role of alcohol within their LAAs and key improvement targets. 

For further information on LAAs and the new frameworks for Local Strategic Partnerships see this overview and Alcohol Concern's LAA Factsheet here.

Seminar on alcohol licensing and drinking culture

A seminar entitled Alcohol Licensing: café culture or city centre chaos? takes place next month on the 7th May in Enfield to look at the debates around current licensing policy and its impact. The seminar will consider a range of research including the recently released report Implementation of the Licensing Act 2003: A National Survey which closely examines the findings of national research on the impacts of the licensing act. This follows the recent  review of the 2003 licensing act.

The National Survey report broadly supports the review in finding that there has not been a consistent impact across the country, and there has been little significant change for better or for worse. However, the National Survey provides a detailed analysis of the challenges and responses facing local authorities and the policy and cultural context of the changes, as well as providing a range of recommendations.

More details

• Middlesex University Criminology Research Centre seminar series
• Alcohol Licensing: café culture or city centre chaos? Betsy Thom, Professor of Health Policy
• Time: 4.30 - 6pm on May 7th
• Venue: Enfield Campus, Queensway, Enfield EN3 4SA; Broadbent Building, room 52

NERAF holds alcohol misuse symposium

The North East Regional Alcohol Forum, an independant peer support charity, this week held an Alcohol Misuse Symposium in Newcastle. The event brought together key speakers including:

• Kevan Martin (NERAF) to talk about the NERAF model
• Dr Weatherhead (GP) on alcohol treatment from the GP's perspective
• Dr Fiona Measham (Lancaster University) on young people and exteme/binge drinking
• Dr Josie Galloway (Glasgow Caledonian) on young people and patterns of alcohol misuse
• Rob Strachan (Government Office North East) on regional alcohol policy
• Sarah-Jane Lilley (Government Office North East) on alcohol and Domestic Violence

A number of workshops were also held to disucss the current issues facing these areas, so watch this space for a report on the event.

Mentor CHAMP awards for alcohol and young people - deadline approaches

The Mentor foundation's Mentor UK CHAMP awards 2008 deadline for nominations closes this month. Mentor UK, a prevention charity for children and young people are calling for people to nominate projects for the CHAMP awards which stand for the promoting Children's Health through Alcohol Misuse Prevention. The scheme is aimed at recognising and rewarding schemes across the UK that prevent children and young people aged 14 and under from misusing alcohol, either now or in the future. There are three main categories for apllications:

• for work in schools
• for work in the community
• for projects led by young people

The  winners in each category will receive £10,000 cash and a further £10,000 worth of consultancy support to help them improve, expand and share their activities. The final winners  will be selected by a panel of young people.  Entries must be submitted by 20th April 2008.  Application form here.