Some selected media stories since the April round-up:
Politicians' drinking
The House of Commons spent more than £1.4 million on alcohol to sell in Palace of Westminster bars in 2012 and 2013, according to a Freedom of Information request reported by the Huffington Post. Spending in Commons bars has gradually increased over the past three years, from just over £222,000 in April 2011 to more than £249,000 in the year to April last year – but this may reflect rising prices.
Channel 4 News had a quick look at the rather different public drinking profiles of party leaders here, whilst Nigel Farage’s wife has revealed her fears to the Telegraph about his pub-loving lifestyle, saying that UK Independence Party leader “drinks and smokes too much”.
Former Official Monster Raving Loony Party cabinet member Lord Toby Jug has been telling Cambridge News about a "descent into alcoholism which left him homeless and near death". He said the Gainsborough Foundation alcohol service in Cambridgeshire had been instrumental in his recovery.
Alcohol problems in the armed forces
Record levels of alcohol abuse in Britain's armed forces have led to more than 1,600 service personnel – the equivalent of several infantry battalions – requiring medical treatment in the past year, reports the Independent. Defence minister Anna Soubry vowed to curb a culture of “drinking to the point of oblivion” in the armed forces as she faced calls to scrap subsidised alcohol in military bars, said the Western Morning News.
Parents and alcohol
The number of children calling ChildLine to confide in a counsellor about their parents' drinking and drug abuse has doubled in the past year, reports the Belfast Telegraph. The 24-hour helpline received 5,323 calls - more than 100 a week - from children scared by their parents' behaviour, a rise on the 2,509 calls it fielded the year before.
Meanwhile, a new website with information and advice for parents on how to discuss alcohol with their children has been launched by the three North East Scotland Alcohol and Drug Partnerships, reports the Northern Scot.
The website, www.meetthehendersons.org.uk, builds on the successful radio ‘soap’ about the Henderson family, which was broadcast last summer to make parents aware of their own drinking behaviour and how this can affect their children. Alternatively see Drinkaware's tips for parents here.
Billion unit pledge
Some confusing reporting has emerged since we first covered the Department of Health's report on the Responsibility Deal Alcohol Network's Pledge to remove 1 billion units by 2015. But the Guardian picked up on the rising strength of wine and spirits, off-setting some of the units removed by reduced beer strengths. An extra 42m units of spirits and 15m more units of wine reportedly went on sale between 2011 and 2012 – despite the industry's efforts to offer lower-strength wines.
However the Portman Group and and trade journal Harper's says producers and retailers are on track to reach the 2015 target, having removed 253m units from the market in the last two years. The Mail has been asking if 'binge drinking' is passé, reporting that low alcohol wines now account for a fifth of all bottles sold.
Reducing the strength to tackle ASB
Torridge is the latest place to implement a voluntary scheme for licensees to ban the sale of beer, cider and lager with an alcohol content of more than 6.5 per cent, says the North Devon Gazette. This follows the success of the first such scheme, Reducing the Strength, in Ipswich, report here.
Alcohol advertising
A majority of the UK general public perceive alcohol adverts to breach the Advertising Standards Authority's Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) Code suggesting that the current regulatory system for UK television is inadequate, research from The University of Manchester shows. Abstract of “Do UK television advertisements abide by the Code of Broadcast Advertising rules regarding the portrayal of alcohol?” here.
Pubs
The All-Party Parliamentary Save the Pub Group has brought forward proposals in the National Planning Policy Framework (Community Involvement) Bill for community pubs to be listed in their own use class to give local communities a greater role in planning decisions reports the Morning Advertiser. One of the key measures outlined in the Bill is to close planning loopholes that allow pubs and other local facilities to be converted into retail use without the need for planning permission.
Meanwhile, Community pubs minister Brandon Lewis (left) has for the first time said the Government would consider changing the way business rates are assessed for pubs, Morning Advertiser story here.
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