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Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Answer

In June of this year, the Home Office, Department of Health and Department for Children, Schools and Families jointly launched 'Safe. Sensible. Social'—The next steps in the National Alcohol Strategy which builds on lessons learned and progress made since the Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England published in March 2004. The renewed strategy outlines the Government's long-term commitment to tackling alcohol-related harms. New measures outlined in this Strategy include:"support for local areas to tackle alcohol-related crime and disorder,""earlier identification interventions and treatment for drinking that could cause harm,""continuing to tackle underage sales of alcohol,""greater effort to tackle alcohol —related offending,""a review of the relationship between price, promotion and harm,""a review on the effectiveness of the alcohol industry's social responsibility standards document in contributing to a reduction in alcohol harm,""promoting a sensible drinking culture through sustained national campaigning to challenge the tolerance of drunkenness and drinking that causes harm, and""preventing harms to those under 18 years of age."We will shortly publish a local strategy toolkit and guidance on the use of tools and powers to help local areas tackle alcohol related harms. We have recently carried out a Tackling Under Age Sales of Alcohol campaign which saw overall failure rates falling to 14 per cent. and will shortly undertake a Responsible Alcohol Sales Campaign. We recently undertook a Confiscation of Alcohol Campaign to support the commencement of new powers (section 27 Directions to leave) available through the Violent Crime Reduction Act to disperse persons who are likely to cause or contribute to alcohol related crime or disorder, and support the use of existing powers in relation to the confiscation of alcohol (Confiscation of Alcohol (Young Persons) Act 1997). We launched Alcohol Arrest Referral Pilot pilots in Cheshire, Ealing, Manchester and Liverpool in October that aim to reduce re-offending by individuals who have been arrested for alcohol-related offending.We have also gone out to tender for the independent review on the effectiveness of the alcohol industry's social responsibility standards document in contributing to a reduction in alcohol harm, we expect the review's findings to be published in April 2008. In addition, the Department of Health are taking forward the independent review the relationship between alcohol price, promotion and harm, we expect the review's findings to be published in the summer of 2008.We are currently drawing up plans for a wide ranging communications campaign to promote a sensible drinking culture by challenging the tolerance of drunkenness, raising the public's knowledge of units of alcohol and ensuring that everyone has the information they need to estimate how much they really do drink, and developing a range of new kinds of information and advice aimed at people who drink at harmful levels, and their families and friends.We believe that through a combination of continued tough enforcement of the law and the promotion of a sensible drinking culture, we can continue to see significant reductions in alcohol-related crime and disorder.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

169176; 468 c758-9W

Session

2007-08

Subjects

Alcoholic drinks Misuse

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk