Alcohol Policy UK

Alcohol Awareness Week: 19 October 2009

Alcohol Awareness week will take place the week commencing 19th October 2009, and will be supported by the the NHS 'Know Your Limits' campaign. A campaign pack will be made available to support the delivery of local activities which will include:

• Information about national activity taking place
• Key messages
• A series of activity ideas, ranging in scale depending on time and resources available to you
• Information about Know Your Limits materials available
• Template press releases and other useful tools e.g. a drink diary

The pack will be produced as a pdf and made available on the stakeholder website (www.nhs.uk/alcoholstakeholders) from the middle of August. In the meantime, if you have any specific questions about the Week email knowyourlimits@forster.co.uk.

Research proposal calls: alcohol and young people

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) is inviting proposals on two large alcohol research projects exploring factors influencing alcohol use amongst young people.

1) Research on young people who do not drink or drink very little

This is to focus on why and how some young people do not drink at all or do not drink to intoxication, and how this choice impacts on their lives.

2) Research on young people, alcohol and locality

This is to focus on the influence that 'locality' has on the drinking and drinking cultures of young people aged 15-22

The work continues the JRF's alcohol project which produced reports exploring UK Drinking trends and Tackling alcohol harm: Lessons from other fields

Amended guidance to Licensing Act issued: minor variations and community premises

From DCMS today

The Licensing Act (section 182) Guidance has been amended to take account of:

• the new process to make Minor Variations to licences and certificates; and
• the new process for community premises to apply to remove the requirement for a designated premises supervisor.

These processes came into force on 29 July 2009. The revision to the Guidance was laid before Parliament on 9 July.  New version here.

The Minor Variations process is designed to allow licensees to make small changes to their licences more quickly and cheaply. Removing the requirement for a designated premises supervisor and personal licence at a community premises allows the management committee of village halls, church halls, chapel halls, community halls and similar community premises to apply to be collectively responsible for the supervision of alcohol sales instead of a designated person with a personal licence. 

These changes follow last year which caused consternation amongst residents' groups.  The Morning Advertiser puts the following spin on the news:

The new application process for minor variations to licences could save the industry up to £2.3m a year. It will make it easier for licensees to change the layout of their premises, serve hot food after 11pm or put on some live music events. The cost of the new process will be less than £100 – compared to the previous average fee of around £225. Under the new system the applicant will fill in a short form, pay a flat rate of £89 and will wait no more than 15 days for a response, against 28 days at present.

There will also no longer be a requirement to advertise in a newspaper or for the licensee to make responsible authorities aware. Village halls will also now be able to nominate the management committee, rather than an individual, as the designated premises supervisor. “We realise that licensees are going through difficult times — that is why it is so important that we remove any unnecessary burdens," said Licensing Minister Gerry Sutcliffe.

No Alcohol Disorder Zones set up

Councils have not implemented any 'Alcohol Disorder Zones' (ADZs), a measure that allows local authorities to impose charges on licensed premises to pay for the costs of addressing alcohol-related problems. The 'polluter pays' type power has not been up taken by any councils since they were made statute over 12 months ago, as part of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006.

The Daily Telegraph reported this as a failing of government to address alcohol-related disorder, but a Home Office spokesman said:

"The fact that there are not any Alcohol Disorder Zones does not suggest that they are not working. Alcohol disorder zones are one of many important tools available to local authorities and police but we have always stressed that they should be used as a last resort."

The Home Office guidance 'A Practical Guide for Dealing with Alcohol Related Problems: What You Need to Know' advises on the use of ADZs and states 'the potential for a zone being declared may be a useful tool to cause licence holders to review their own promotion of the licensing objectives to improve the area before a statutory action plan or order is imposed upon them.'

Drinking Banning Orders (DBOs), brought in under the same legislation, will soon be available as a measure to stop drink-related offenders entering premises. Guidance is due to be released, advising how police or local authorities will need to make applications for DBOs.  Recently one local authority used legislation dating back over a century to prevent a 'habitual' problem drinker from purchasing alcohol (story here). 

Please get in touch if you know of any cases of ADZs or DBOs being used or planned.

However whilst ADZs and Drinking Banning Orders may not yet prove popular, other alcohol-related legislation has been widely used, particularly  'Controlled Drinking Zones', formally known as 'Designated Public Place Orders' (DPPOs). These allow police to confiscate alcohol within the identified area, though are often misinterpreted as a ban on public drinking. Over 600 zones have been introduced since 2003, with some covering whole towns or boroughs.

Hartlepool drinker banned from purchasing alcohol

A woman has been labelled a 'habitual drunkard' and banned from attempting to purchase alcohol anywhere in the country. According to the local paper, Angela Wrightson is the first person in the last decade to be legally labelled a "drunkard" and banned from purchasing alcohol. Hartlepool council used section 6 of the 1902 Licensing Act, the 'Prohibition of sale of liquor to persons declared to be habitual drunkard', which can only be applied to someone previously convicted of an offence contained within the 1898 Inebriates Act.

The Safer Hartlepool Anti-Social Behaviour Unit took the measures due persistent offending and public order offences linked to her drinking, and the failure to engage in services or comply with an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO). Wrightson will be fined £200 if she is caught trying to buy alcohol, while licensed premises will be fined £500 if they serve her or anyone on her behalf.

In 2007 a Police Inspector in Cornwall said he would encourage his officers to use the same measures after claiming that 'Fixed Penalty Notices were not stiff enough' (story here).

However taking higher-end enforcement measures can be controversial, particularly when used on individuals with complex needs such as alcohol dependency and mental health problems. In 2007 a detailed report examined 'The impact of enforcement on street users in England' and found that whilst enforcement measures were effective, a range of other issues needed to be considered. An AERC Alcohol Academy briefing was recently produced examining Street drinking: enforcement Vs support - finding the balance.

Earlier this year the Home Office announced that Drinking Banning Orders would soon be available to allow police and local authorities to stop a person entering premises following the 2006 Violent Crime Reduction Act. No news as yet.

IAS 'Alcohol Alert' for September

The latest 'Alcohol Alert' magazine has been released by the Institute of Alcohol Studies, covering a range of current news and research findings.

The cover feature focuses on the current Health Committee review into alcohol, picking up on  accusation from Professor Martin Plant that 'Supermarkets exhibiting the morality of a crack dealer'.

The Health Committee review has attracted media interest with a wide range of senior medical professionals and leading industry representatives battling out the case for and against further regulation of the industry on pricing and advertising.

The Daily Mail have recently highlighted the continued heavy discounting or 'loss leading' of alcohol by supermarkets, a practice that would only be likley to be curbed by minimum pricing measures - an approach currently out of favour with Brown's government. Instead proposals for a mandatory licensing code are out for consultation, whilst a range of 'responsible drinking' campaigns continue.

AERC Alcohol Academy launch event - summary and slides

The launch of the AERC Alcohol Academy took place last month in London with a one day event of workshops and presentations. The event was set up to pilot and deliver the academy’s objectives of facilitating networking and developing skills and learning for alcohol coordinators and strategic leads.

The Academy will be delivering a series of free events across the country to continue development and support of strategic alcohol harm reduction. For further details and to enquire about a seminar in your region see the ‘What we do’ page on the website.

AERC Alcohol Academy – launch event sessions

The launch event included the following sessions focusing on some of the key strategic issues facing alcohol coordinators and strategic leads.

1- ‘Alcohol harms: trends and issues’ Dr Rachel Seabrook, Institute of Alcohol Studies

This presentation (ppt.) gave an in-depth exploration of alcohol-harm and what we know about trends in use. Key issues covered include:

• Types of harm e.g. health vs social and short term vs long term
• Consumption data – what we know and the limitations of the data
• Alcohol-related admissions – breakdown of all causes
• Trends in alcohol sales – affordability, price and consumption
• Poly-drug and alcohol use issues

2- 'Partnership as a mechanism for delivering local alcohol policy’ Rachel Herring, University of Middlesex (Workshop 1, followed by structured group discussion)

This presentation (ppt.) explored the role of partnerships in delivering local alcohol strategy and covers key issues including:

• The local frameworks for alcohol strategy delivery
• The role of alcohol in cross-cutting partnership agendas
• What is ‘partnership’ and why is it important?
• Multi-component approaches
• Key issues and challenges to partnerships
• Evaluating LSPs – governance  and delivery issues
• Successful partnerships and lessons from other fields

3- 'Research and evaluation: strengthening the evidence base'  Professor Betsy Thom, University of Middlesex

This presentation (ppt.) explores important considerations for setting up alcohol interventions and evaluating projects covering key issues including:

• What kinds of alcohol-related research/evaluation evidence do we have?
• Examining population level studies, socio-cultural studies and policy-impact studies
• What are the most and least effective alcohol interventions?
• Why does research evidence often fail to influence policy & practice?
• What are the challenges for research & evaluation?
• How can the Academy facilitate a critical understanding of research and evaluation?

4- ‘Alcohol problems in the elderly’ Dr Karim Dar, Consultant Psychiatrist in Addictions (Workshop 2, followed by structured group discussion)

This presentation (ppt.) gives a highly comprehensive assessment of alcohol problems in the elderly and examines the treatment responses available, despite numerous socio-political barriers. The general structure of the presentation addresses:

• Introduction-beliefs about addictions and its treatment
• Epidemiology
• Risk factors & signs/symptoms
• Diagnostic issues
• Screening
• Medical and psychiatric co-morbidity (including dementia)
• Treatments

5- 'The context of alcohol policy and the role of the Academy' John Eversley, Managing Director of ppre

The final presentation was given by John Everlsy, Director of ppre, a senior lecturer at several universities and expert in the field of public policy and management. The presentation gave a fascinating and thought-provoking insight into how we think and understand policy and research and its relevance for the academy. A video of the presentation will be published shortly.

Alcohol industry launches £100 million repsonsible drinking campaign

A collaboration of more than 45 drinks companies and retailers have funded a 5 year responsible drinking campaign costing £100 million. The 'campaign for smarter drinking' will see the industry funded  Drinkaware trust lead on the campaign that will "offer practical tips to make sure good times don’t go bad, such as reminders to drink water or soft drinks, eat food and plan to get home safely." The campaign claims it will take a social marketing approach to "use outdoor advertising, signs, drink mats in pubs and bars, on-drink and point of sale displays in retailers to deliver its message."

However the latest announcement of more money on 'responsible drinking' campaigns has continued to anger groups that highlight a lack of evidence for such approaches. Professor Ian Gilmore, chair of the UK Alcohol Health Alliance and president of the Royal college of Physicians, has responded by stating:

"There is very little evidence that health messages work to prevent binge or harmful drinking. Instead, all the international evidence shows that increasing the price and reducing the availability of alcohol, together with bans on advertising, are the main methods of reducing alcohol-related harm. We need strong government action in these areas right now."

Don Shenker, chief executive of Alcohol Concern, referred to a history of a softer approach to regulating the industry taken by the government: "This new initiative appears to be yet another example of the drinks industry trying desperately to avoid mandatory legislation to pass on health information to consumers."

Currently consultation is out on further measures to ensure licensed premises sell alcohol responsibly, which followed a lack of adherence to the current voluntary code of practice. However other groups, such as the BMA and Chief Medical Officer continue to call for stronger action such as minimum pricing and controls on advertising as necessary measures for reducing alcohol-related harm.

Certainly here at Alcohol Policy UK it seems we have regularly reported on new 'responsible drinking campaigns' over recent years, funded by a range of government departments as well as industry-funded organisations. Not to mention local and regional campaigns that don't make national news. Last year we reported concerns over continuous campaigns when drinks industry giant Diageo launched its own responsible drinking website.

Other recent government-funded campaigns have included those from the Home Office, Foreign Office and Department of Transport, alongside the £10 million NHS Know Your Limits campaign.

Brits abroad targeted with sensible drinking messages

The British Foreign Office have joined the list of organisations promoting sensible drinking messages to boozing Britons. The latest campaign targets British holiday makers in Greece, famed for their excess and alcohol-induced antics. Leaflets and business cards will be given out on the Greek party islands with messages of "Don't get spiked, keep an eye on your drink" and "If you drink too much, things can get out of hand".

Foreign Office Minister, Chris Bryant, spoke on 5Live during a visit to Corfu. He said: 'we want to make sure that people have a great holiday but they have a safe one'. The full interview can be found here.

Each year nearly 1,000 British holiday makers are hospitalised in Greece, more than in any other foreign country despite being only the 6th most popular foreign holiday destination. British foreign office data also shows those aged between 16 and 20 account for more than 70 percent of Britain's consular cases in Greece.

See this Observer story for more on the campaign.

Commissioning guidance for alcohol treatment published

The Department of Health has just published its long-awaited guidance, called Signs for improvement – commissioning interventions to reduce alcohol-related harm. 

It is "designed to direct commissioners in areas where tackling alcohol harm is an identified priority, to the resources and good practice guidance, which will assist them in commissioning interventions to reduce the harm caused by alcohol in their local community. It offers ways to improve commissioning, looking at each World Class Commissioning competency and all stages in the commissioning cycle."