Written question asked by Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe (Labour), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Davies of Oldham (Labour) on Tuesday, 23 February 2010.

Alcohol

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how, in the absence of compulsory data collection and submission by local authorities and accident and emergency departments on alcohol-related incidents, the impact of the Licensing Act 2003 on alcohol-related public health and alcohol-related crime and disorder is monitored and assessed.

Answer: There are a number of established national statistical surveys that collect data on alcohol-related health harms and alcohol-related crime and disorder. The Government have always been clear that the licensing of premises where alcohol is sold cannot be considered in isolation from other factors such as national and local alcohol strategies and other interventions to reduce and prevent alcohol related crime and disorder. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s (DCMS) evaluation of the impact of the Licensing Act in 2008 found there were signs that crimes involving serious violence may have reduced since the changes to the licensing regime, but there was also evidence of increases in the small proportion of violent crime occurring in the small hours. The evaluation also suggested that licensing reform has not been accompanied by an overall increase in alcohol consumption. The evaluation concluded that licensing regimes may be one factor in effecting change to a country’s drinking culture, but do not appear to be the critical factor. This document is available on the DCMS website at http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/publications/Licensingevaluation.pdf.

Secondary information