Alcohol Policy UK

Fears that off-trade will 'beat below cost sales ban'

Fears that supermarkets will still be able to sell alcohol at 'rock bottom prices' despite the proposed 'ban on below cost sales' have been highlighted by the Morning Advertiser (MA). The report 'Off-trade can beat below-cost ban' suggests a definition of 'below cost' supported by a leading industry body would still allow beer to be sold for for about 54p a can and wine for £2.33 a bottle.

Speculation over whether the below cost ban can be effective has centred on concerns over how 'below-cost' would be defined. The method of calculation appears not to have been agreed but the MA suggests 'calculating cost price any other way [than duty + VAT] is almost impossible because there are so many variables'. However Mark Hastings of the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said cost price could be determined by stores telling a Government agency in confidence how much they pay. Hastings said “The Competition Commission currently handles such data in confidence so it can be done. This is the system that operates in Spain — so if they can do it, I’m sure we can!".

Another MA report highlighted that the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) is 'backing a united lobbying effort to ensure there’s no “wriggle room” for supermarkets in the crackdown on cheap deals'. Kate Nicholls, head of communications for the ALMR said in reference to the below-cost ban that the 'devil will be in the detail'. Nicholls also appeared to support the Government plans to 'overhaul' the Licensing act since de-regulation had allowed supermarkets to 'exploit alcohol as a footfall driver'. She also called for the mandatory code to include irresponsible promotions by the off-trade.

Scotland's minimum pricing divides health committe; alcohol report recommends caffeine limit in alcoholic drinks

The Scottish Parliament’s Health and Sport Committee agreed that the country’s alcohol problem must be addressed as it reviews the latest stage of the Alcohol Bill, but is divided on whether minimum pricing should be adopted as key measure - BBC report here.

As the committee considered the findings of the Stage 1 report, the long-running divisions over the minimum pricing proposals remain. Following recent pressure for the SNP to identify the proposed minimum price, the Committee recommended the Government amends the alcohol report at Stage 2 to include the proposed price. 

The report also recommended a legal limit on the level of caffeine allowed in alcoholic drinks. This would be likely to result in prohibiting the production of the infamous Buckfast, a drink commonly linked to anti-social behaviour in Scotland.

Statistics on Alcohol, England 2010

    

The annual NHS alcohol data report has been published by the NHS information centre.

Download Statistics on Alcohol, England 2010

The report aims to present a broad picture of health issues relating to alcohol in England and covers topics such as drinking habits and behaviours among adults  and school children, drinking-related mortality, affordability of alcohol and alcohol-related costs. See here for the accompanying tables (excel).

Key facts:

• In England in 2008, 71 per cent of men and 56 per cent of women (aged 16 and over) reported drinking an alcoholic drink on at least one day in the week prior to interview. Eleven per cent of men and 6 per cent of women reported drinking on every day in the previous week.
• In England in 2008, 38 per cent of men drank over 4 units on at least one day in the week prior to interview and 29 per cent of women drank more than 3 units on at least one day in the week prior to interview. Twenty two per cent of men reported drinking over 8 units and 15 per cent of women reported drinking over 6 units on at least one day in the week prior to interview.
• The average weekly alcohol consumption in England in 2008, was 16.8 units for men and 8.6 units for women. There has been an increase from 54 per cent in 1997 to 75 per cent in 2009 in the proportion of people in Great Britain who had heard of daily drinking limits. Throughout the period, differences between men and women have been slight.
• In England in 2009, there were 150,445 prescription items for drugs for the treatment of alcohol dependency prescribed in primary care settings or NHS hospitals and dispensed in the community. This is an increase of 12 per cent since 2008 when there were 134,423 prescription items and 46 per cent since 2003 when there were 102,741 prescription items.
• In England in 2008, there were 6,769 deaths directly related to alcohol. An increase of 24 per cent from 2001. Of these alcohol related deaths, the majority (4,400) died from alcoholic liver disease.

See Alcohol Concern's press release and media coverage from the Guardian.

Children, Young People and Alcohol: Pan-London Guidance

Guidance on children and young people's alcohol issues has been released this month by the London Joint Action Group (JAG) on alcohol. The guidance is aimed at all commissioners, service managers and front-line staff who work with children and young people.

Download 'Children, Young People and Alcohol: Pan-London Guidance'

The guidance chapters include:

1. Key Strategies
2. Universal/Prevention and Early Intervention
3. Targeted/Harm Reduction
4. Specialist Treatment
5. Treatment Exit and Transitions
6. Information Sharing and Joint Working
7. Whole Family Approaches
8. Key Contacts

The guidance was produced by gathering information from a select number of statutory bodies and practitioners across London, including first London Alcohol Practitioner's forum (event summary here). The JAG was established to support the delivery of the Regional Statement of Priorities [pdf], a framework for reducing alcohol related harm in the capital.

See Too much too young? Alcohol misuse amongst young Londoners for further information about Children and Young People's alcohol use in London.

Local Alcohol Workforce and Skills Development Conference, 15th June 2010

Reducing Harm from Alcohol – National Resources for Local Workforce and Skills Development Conference is taking place on the 15th June 2010 in London.

Conference details here or download the event flyer [pdf].

The conference forms part of the Skills for Health work programme commissioned by the Department of Health to address workforce development needs for specialist practitioners and all who could or do deliver Identification and Brief Advice (IBA).

Attendance at the conference is recommended for all those who are involved directly or indirectly in delivering services for alcohol across all sectors; public, private, and voluntary, and including practitioners, workforce planners and commissioners, education commissioners, education providers, training and development leads. 

To register, please go to: www.eventprouk.com, click on EVENT REGISTRATION then input: Username: EP1243 Password: AL150610 (Please note that all the 0's are zeros' and use capital letters)

Registration will be open until 7th June 2010.

Location: Holiday Inn Bloomsbury London WC1N 1HT (Holiday Inn Bloomsbury Map & Directions)

If you have any queries concerning registration please do not hesitate to contact Liz Moss, [email protected] or Tel: 0845 8385188

World Cup 2010: Alcohol and Licensing guidance notes

'Alcohol and Licensing During the World Cup 2010: Guidance notes' [doc] has been produced for those involved with Licensing and enforcement. The guidance makes recommendations for a number of particular areas to consider in relation to alcohol-related crime and disorder, and identifies key powers within the Licensing Act.

The guidance also identifies specific 'irresponsible promotions' that will not be permitted following the introduction of the mandatory code this year. Specific breaches of the code would include offers such as:

• “half price drinks when England scores a goal”; or
• “free drinks if your team wins”

Home Office guidance on the code for retailers is available: 'Selling Alcohol Responsibly: The New Mandatory Licensing Conditions'

Tesco and Greene King join minimum pricing camp

News last week that the Chief Executive of Tesco, Sir Terry Leahy, has backed minimum pricing has prompted a rush of media coverage - see Telegraph and Times stories. Leahy came out backing the new coalition Government's plans to ban below costs sales, but went a step further to support minimum pricing. Leahy's support was announced after a survey found that nearly 70 per cent of Tesco customers thought excessive drinking was one of the most serious issues facing Britain.

The Times responded with a briefing on alcohol pricing in which they suggest the Government plans to ban below cost selling are 'hard to implement'. Alcohol Concern and other health groups have called for minimum pricing on similar grounds. Don Shenker of Alcohol Concern said: “We welcome this announcement from Tesco and see these measures as important first steps towards more responsible supermarket alcohol sales."

However critics have suggested Tesco have only backed minimum pricing because it would boost profits. A Daily Express story quoted Scottish MSP Richard Baker as saying it would gift a '£113million windfall to the supermarkets and other retailers'. The Scottish Government have been trying to secure minimum pricing without the support of opposition parties. Other opponents such as the British Retail Consortium (BRC) have continued to argue the problem is a cultural issue.

This week brewer and pub operator Greene King also called out for the Government to further explore the minimum pricing route. Greene King chief executive Rooney Anand said "excessive drinking by a minority of alcohol consumers is fuelled by its availability at heavily discounted prices, particularly high strength alcohol products and lager brands bought off-trade." Scotland's largest brewer Tennants was the first main industry body to shock the field by coming out in favour of minimum pricing. 

As Scotland attempt to secure minimum pricing in the Alcohol Bill, the coalition Government will attempt to 'ban below cost alcohol sales' and 'review alcohol taxation and pricing to ensure it tackles binge drinking without unfairly penalising responsible drinkers'. The Welsh Government are reportedly preparing plans to adopt minimum pricing. 

For regular drug and alcohol media coverage follow Drugscope Daily.

Global Alcohol Strategy progresses

The World Health Assembly passed on the 20th of May a resolution endorsing a Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol. A summary of the draft strategy [pdf], identifying its 5 main objectives, can be found here. The strategy and all related documents can be accessed from the World Health Organization (WHO) site here.

The WHO last year released the Handbook for action to reduce alcohol related harm, aimed at policy makers to help them 'review, adjust or strengthen their alcohol action plans and explores ten areas for action'.

The WHO also released a comprehensive supporting review of the effectivness of various policies and interventions in reducing alcohol-related harm: Evidence for the effectiveness and cost–effectiveness of interventions to reduce alcohol-related harm.

Upated resources: IBA e-learning; Ready Reckoner; LAPE profiles

An updated version of the Alcohol Identification and Brief Advice (IBA) e-learning course has been produced. The course helps professionals to identify individuals whose drinking might be impacting on their health and how to respond by delivering simple, structured advice.

A new version of the Ready Reckoner (V5 updated April 2010) data tool for commissioners is now available. The ready reckoner aims to assist PCTs to assess interventions' effectiveness in reducing alcohol related admissions. Tools to help commissioners apply the RUSH model, 'a systems approach to estimating the required capacity of alcohol treatment services' are available here.

The Local Alcohol Profiles for England (LAPE) have also continued to develop their resources, now also offering regional profiles.

Coalition Government outlines alcohol plans

The new Government has outlined its plans for alcohol policy in its latest document 'The coalition: our programme for government' [pdf]. It states:

• We will ban the sale of alcohol below cost price.
• We will review alcohol taxation and pricing to ensure it tackles binge drinking without unfairly penalising responsible drinkers, pubs and important local industries.
• We will overhaul the Licensing Act to give local authorities and the police much stronger powers to remove licences from, or refuse to grant licences to, any premises that are causing problems.
• We will allow councils and the police to shut down permanently any shop or bar found to be persistently selling alcohol to children.
• We will double the maximum fine for under-age alcohol sales to £20,000.
• We will permit local councils to charge more for late-night licences to pay for additional policing.

Proposals to ban below cost alcohol sales have attracted significant media coverage since David Cameron first spoke out about the 'unbelievably low prices of some alcohol' and 'loss-leading' by supermarkets. Pledging to 'review taxation' suggests the Government will also stick to plans to 'raise taxes on those drinks linked to anti-social drinking'.

Pledging to 'review pricing' in addition may offer hope to those that have called for a minimum pricing approach to address the cheap availability of alcohol. Pricing measures have been opposed by bodies such as the British Retail Consortium, but called for by the Chief Medical Officer, and other health groups. Alcohol Concern had previously commented that the Tory proposals were 'a positive step' but fell short of minimum pricing. Professor Ian Gilmore or the Royal College of Physicians has also stated:

"The prices of cheap alcohol are a number one problem, but it would be insufficient just to tackle loss leaders. There is a lot of discounting going on, such as offers encouraging bulk-buying, that wouldn't be stopped."

Plans to 'overhaul' the licensing system do net yet appear to have been fully outlined, other than promising stronger powers to address problematic premises. However it appears control of the Licensing agenda will largely remain within the Department for Culture, Media and Sport after recent suggestions it would return to the Home Office.