Written question asked by Mike Penning (Conservative) on Tuesday, 14 October 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 16 October 2008. It was answered by Baroness Primarolo (Labour) on Monday, 3 November 2008 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated in support of the 10 per cent. target for reduction in alcohol consumption mentioned in his Department's impact assessment relating to the Government's alcohol strategy.

Answer: The Department has not set targets for a reduction in alcohol consumption.The impact assessments to the Department's consultation document 'Safe, Sensible, Social—consultation on further action' included estimates of the impact of (a) an end-frame or information to be included within alcohol advertising (resulting in an estimated at a 2.4 per cent. reduction in consumption) and (b) measures to place unit and health information on alcohol labels (direct evidence not available to show impact on consumption. However, there is reason to expect some impact and a 0.02 per cent. reduction in consumption would yield enough benefits to offset the costs involved).A technical appendix to the assessment explained how these estimates had been arrived and a theoretical 10 per cent. reduction in per capita alcohol consumption was chosen solely to illustrate the methodology. The impact assessments make this theoretical illustration very clear.

Secondary information