Alcohol Policy UK

NOMS Alcohol Interventions Guidance

The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has developed best practice guidance for probation staff on the effective commissioning, management and delivery of a range of interventions for alcohol misusing offenders.

The guidance is likely to be of interest to all those who commission, manage or deliver interventions to offenders with alcohol problems. It is also provides comprehensive outlines of the various alcohol treatment and intervention approaches and their relevance to correctional services. The comprehensive guidance is available as a single document or as separate sections:

Download the full NOMS Alcohol Interventions Guidance or chapters:

• 1-Introduction
• 2-Commissioning
• 3-Targeting
• 4-Screening and assessment
• 5-Court proposals
• 6-Delivery
• 7-Sentence management
• 8-Addressing diversity
• 9-Compliance and enforcement
• 10-Testing
• 11-Continuity of care
• 12-Partnership working
• 13-Training
• 14-Performance management
• Annex A-Alcohol Interventions Pathway - Community
• Annex B-Alcohol Interventions Pathway- Custody
• Annex C-Alcohol Best Practice Projects Summary

The NOMS Alcohol Interventions Guidance updates Annex B to PC 57/2005, Managing the Alcohol Treatment Requirement (ATR), to better reflect 'Models of Care for Alcohol Misusers' (MoCAM) and the 'Review of the Effectiveness of Treatment for Alcohol Problems' (here). It also addresses the main operational issues raised in the recently published research report, 'Evidence based practice? The National Probation Service’s work with alcohol misusing offenders', available here on the Ministry of Justice website.

The guidance was developed by the NOMS Interventions & Substance Misuse Group (NOMS ISMG). For further enquiries email Robert Stanbury, Strategic Development Manager, NOMS Interventions & Substance Misuse Group.

'Children, Young People and Alcohol' DCSF report published

The report 'Children, Young People and Alcohol' aims to better understand parents’ and young people’s attitudes and behaviour towards alcohol and alcohol consumption. The research was also designed to investigate how children’s behaviour may be influenced by their parent’s attitudes and behaviour towards alcohol.

The document was commissioned by the Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF) and is based on findings from interviews with over 4,000 parents and children and young people. It builds on the Youth Alcohol Action Plan (DCSF 2008) and recently the Chief Medical Officer guidance on the consumption of alcohol by children and young people was released.

Last year also saw a number of other reports released on young people and alcohol, and the 'Why let the Drink Decide?' campaign is currently encouraging parents to talk about alcohol with their children. See the Alcohol Policy Young People category for past news and links relating to children and young people.

Events: Alcohol Studies Group conference, Youth Policy and Home Office best practice

New Directions in the Study of Alcohol Group conference 2010

The New Directions in the Study of Alcohol Group (NDSAG) 2010 conference takes place from Thursday 22nd to Sunday 25th April in Norwich. For further details including registration form see the NDSAG blog.

NDSAG is concerned with the use and abuse of alcohol in society, and the treatment of people with alcohol-related problems. Its aim is to promote a better understanding of these topics. The Group is mainly a forum for debate; where anybody concerned with helping people with drinking problems is encouraged to exchange ideas, share results and learn about new developments in the field.

Youth Policy project consultation seminars

The Alcohol Concern Youth Policy project are conducting 'Young People and Alcohol Consultation Seminars' across the country, starting next month in London - download flyer. The events aim to support the development of youth specific resources, share innovative local practice, contribute to national policy recommendations and take the opportunity to network with other professionals.

Tackling alcohol related violence & disorder in market towns: networking event

On Monday the 22nd March in Hinckley, Leicestershire, a conference and networking event takes place to look at responses to alcohol related problems in market towns. The event has been organised by Hinckley & Bosworth and the Home Office to bring together practitioners from market town locations to share good practice of “what works” in tackling alcohol related crime and disorder.

The Home Office are also arranging further conference events in March including best practice for seaside towns and the priority area wrap up event. The Havering Beacon Night Time Economy event also takes place in March.

The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) are also currently holding alcohol consultation events.

A survey of GPs’ knowledge, attitudes and practices on alcohol interventions

'A survey of general practitioners’ knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding the prevention and management of alcohol-related problems: an update of a World Health Organisation survey ten years on' has been released by the AERC.

See Alcohol Insight 69 for the key findings or download the full report

The study, conducted by leading researchers in the UK field of alcohol treatment and interventions, explores some of the key findings and perceptions of General Practitioners (GPs) as a key context for identifying and responding to alcohol problems.

Key findings and issues include:

• 94% of GPs were ‘prepared’ or ‘very prepared’ to counsel patients
• 60% of GPs felt ‘effective’ or ‘very effective’ in helping patients change alcohol consumption, with this proportion rising to 82% if  given adequate information and training
• Over a half (52%) had received less than 4 hours of post-graduate training, CME or clinical supervision on alcohol-related issues and 12% had received no such training
• The main barriers to involvement in alcohol intervention were that GPs were too busy (63%), that GPs were not trained in counselling for reducing alcohol consumption (57%) and that the current GMS contract did not encourage work with alcohol problems (48%).
• The main incentives for this work were if support services were more readily available (87%), if early intervention was proven to be successful (81%) and if patients requested alcohol-related advice (80%)

Key implications for policy and practice include:

• GPs are not routinely asking patients about alcohol and most do so only in response to physical indicators
• The provision of support to facilitate GPs in asking patients about alcohol is recommended. GPs report low numbers of patients being managed for alcohol
• Levels of identification could be increased through the adoption of screening for alcohol problems into the GP contract
• Levels of postgraduate training in treating alcohol reported by GPs are low and lower than ten years previously. Further training should be made available to GPs.
• Inclusion of alcohol treatment in the GMS contract, and in the Quality and Outcomes Framework were possible key options for improving alcohol responses

The report seems to indicate there is still significant gains to be made in improving the role of Primary Care in identifying and responding to alcohol problems. However it does not appear to reflect the development of schemes such as Locally Enhanced Services (LES) and the national Direct Enhanced Services (DES) which have been increasingly implemented in recent years. The DES offers GP practices an incentive to screen new registrations for alcohol and has been extended for 2010/11. However there have been reports that local LES contracts, which include specific requirements for delivering brief interventions rather than only screening, are more effective.

See the Primary care service framework: Alcohol for commissioning guidance on alcohol interventions in Primary Care.

'Drinks industry must do better on labelling' - consultation on action opens

An independent report has said the drinks industry is failing to adhere to a voluntary agreement with government on alcohol labels. It found just 15 per cent of drinks give consumers sufficient information as per the voluntary code, which includes five key labelling elements identifying unit content and health harms.

In response the government has begun consultation on how best to improve unit and health information for consumers on alcohol labels. The consultation asks whether the industry should be made to improve through a mandatory labelling requirement, or whether the existing voluntary agreement should be left or attempts to strengthen it should be taken. Scotland has also begun a separate consultation.

A Department of Health press release contains further information, and there have been various reports including from the Guardian, BBC,  Telegraph and Morning Advertiser.

A journal review 'Warnings on alcohol containers and advertisements: International experience and evidence on effects' is available to download here.

UK pricing: political dialogues continue

In the build up to the elections, we'll be trying to update you with key news and developments relating to national alcohol policy. The recent level of political attention, and the pricing and availability debate in particular, could prove important election topics. Here's some of the recent goings on:

The former Tory Leader Iain Duncan-Smith, who heads the think tank The Centre for Social Justice, has made strong calls for higher taxes which should be ring-fenced for alcohol treatment. According to The Times Duncan-Smith, who is likely to take a Cabinet position following a successful conservative election, said:

“We are into unpopular territory, but to deal with something like alcohol that is damaging the fabric of the nation we need to raise prices. There is a direct connection between the price of alcohol and consumption.”

Duncan-Smith argued an 'an across-the-board tax' was needed to increase the costs to all drinkers. Increasing taxes has been announced as part of the Conservative's alcohol policy, but questions have been raised about how effective it will be 'to find a fair formula that could be used to judge whether a product is being sold below cost', as outlined in their Green paper. Alcohol Concern have previously commented that increased taxes are a start, but that minimum pricing is the most effective policy and prevents supermarkets from absorbing tax increases on alcohol as loss-leaders.

The calls for further taxation were vehemently rejected by a supermarket retail consortium who dismissed the role of cheap alcohol: 'Pushing up prices won’t make a difference. Changing attitudes will and that’s what retailers are engaged in.' The British Retail Consortium spokesperson also controversially claimed supermarkets were 'the most responsible sellers of alcohol' but supermarkets have since had wider pricing tactics labelled as 'cynical and agressive'. Supermarkets were recently left out of the mandatory code which bans irresponsible promotions in pubs and bars. 

The British Medical Journal (BMJ) have released a number of comment editorials critical of government policy and industry groups:

• 'Preventing alcohol harm to health'
• 'Lobby watch: The Portman group' 
• 'Failure of self regulation of UK advertising'

The Drug and Alcohol Findings bank has released a bulletin based on a US report reviewing 'The effectiveness of tax policy interventions for reducing excessive alcohol consumption and related harms' - access it here. The US task force, representing the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, explored pricing policies and the related political issues across the globe.

Scotland

The tense pricing debate has been continuing in Scotland, where the Scottish National Party (SNP) are attempting to bring in pricing measures without opposition backing. The SNP do however have support from a range of health professionals and organisations, most recently from a group of international scientists (see The Herald). However the Royal Society of Edinburgh have said the likely minimum price of 40 pence per unit would not go far enough and should be set a 50 pence, a Times story reports. Although the proposed price has not yet been set, with the average unit price currently at 43p the Health Secretary Nicola sturgeon highlighted the need to 'strike a balance'.

There was also recent press cynicism of the validity of the University of Sheffield's research on the impact of minimum pricing after lead researcher Dr Petra Meir said "The idea of modelling is you haven't introduced a policy, you're trying to project what is going to happen. It's like the weather forecast, you don't evaluate it afterwards, it's a model."

Other UK policy news

A survey by the Sunday Mirror reports that soft drinks are more expensive than beer in half of the UK's pubs, a Public report highlights.

A Ministerial Statement form the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has set out the Government's intention to ban the product placement of alcohol and foods high in fat, salt or sugar.

A parliamentary question has resulted in a summary of all prosecutions and PNDs for sales of alcohol to under 18s since 1997.

Children of Alcoholics week called for by charity

The National Association for Children of Alcoholics (NCAOA) have called for the 14th-20th February as 'Children of Alcoholics Week'.

'Children of Alcoholics Week is a campaign to raise awareness of the many difficulties faced by millions of children and adult children of alcohol-dependent parents in the UK often living in confusion and isolation. Growing up with a problem drinker in the family can have a lasting effect on the family as a whole. We want all those who are being, or have been, affected, to know that they are not alone and that help and understanding is available for them. Visit www.coaweek.org.uk.'

The campaign appears to have prompted an Observer article about the impact of alcohol misuse on children.

Call the NACOA for help on 0800 358 3456 or email NACOA Helpline.

Havering Beacon conference: best practice in managing the Night Time Economy

As London’s only Beacon accredited local authority for managing its town centre night time economy, Havering is holding a 2010 Beacon Conference.

Supported by the Home Office and featuring contributions from senior figures covering all areas of one of the UK’s most legislated industries, the conference is free to professionals looking to develop a safer, stronger and more successful local night time economy. 

However, places are strictly limited - download the Havering Beacon event conference flyer for further details and registration.

NOMS Alcohol Policy Stakeholder Consultation Events

The National Offender Management Service Interventions and Substance Misuse Group (NOMS ISMG) is holding a series of stakeholder consultation events in February and March 2010 to inform the development of NOMS Alcohol Policy.

These are practically focused events aimed primarily at commissioners, strategists/policy makers, operational managers and practitioners from community and custodial settings and representatives from the alcohol treatment sector.

Please download the NOMS Alcohol Policy Consultation Events Flyer for more information about the events and how to apply for a place. Enquiries and expressions of interest should be made to Rebecca Kamara.

Updates and events

Last chance to complete brief interventions survey

Last chance to complete the short brief interventions online survey on challenges and delivery closes today. The survey is being undertaken by the AERC Alcohol Academy who aim to promote excellence in alcohol harm reduction.

Nottingham IBA event

On Friday the 12th of March, an event to help health and social professionals identify and address harmful alcohol use takes place. You can register on the Alcohol Learning Centre events page or  download the events flyer and registration form

Alcohol Concern launch new site

The national agency for alcohol misuse have launched a new user-friendly website. See here for the new Alcohol Concern site.