Written question asked by Sally Keeble (Labour) on Tuesday, 13 May 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 15 May 2008. It was answered by Lord Coaker (Labour) on Wednesday, 21 May 2008 on behalf of the Home Office.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what figures her Department holds on levels of binge drinking among people aged (a) under 16, (b) 16 to 24 and (c) over 24 years.

Answer: There is no universally agreed definition of binge drinking, but the term has generally been used to describe a pattern of drinking that involves drinking alcohol to excess over a short period of time.The Home Office published a study in 2006 (Underage drinking: findings from the 2004 Offending, Crime and Justice Survey Matthews et al (2006) Home Office Findings 277) to explore the prevalence and nature of underage drinking and the relationship between alcohol consumption and offending among young people (10 to 17-years-old). The report can be found here:"http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/r277.pdf"The Home Office also published a study in 2005 (Findings from the 2003 Offending, Crime and Justice Survey: alcohol related crime and disorder, Matthews, S. and Richardson, A. (2005) Home Office Findings 261) which looked at the relationship between patterns of alcohol consumption and offending by 18 to 24-year-olds. This study does include some information on alcohol consumption relating to older age groups 25 to 25 and 36 to 65-years-old. The report can be found here:"http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/r261.pdf"

Secondary information