37. Memorandum submitted by the Portman
Group
1. INTRODUCTION
The Portman Group (TPG) was set up in 1989 by
the UK's leading alcohol producers. Its purpose is to promote
responsible drinking; to help prevent alcohol misuse; to encourage
responsible marketing; and to foster a balanced understanding
of alcohol-related issues.
TPG speaks for its member companies[136]
on these social aspects of alcohol. It does not represent any
drinks companies or other part of the trade on any other matter.
TPG nevertheless welcomes the participation of the wider drinks
industry—manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers—in
its activities, for example as signatories to the Code of Practice,
or in using the Proof of Age Card scheme, and believes that the
drinks industry can thereby demonstrate its social responsibility,
help to protect its commercial freedoms and enhance its success
in a manner consistent with good citizenship.
TPG welcomes this opportunity to respond to
the Home Affairs Committee inquiry into anti-social behaviour.
In our response we have sought to focus only on those areas where
we consider we have particular knowledge or competence. Our response
will focus in particular on the role that the drinks industry
can play in reducing alcohol-related crime and disorder. The types
of crime that we have been involved in trying to prevent include
purchase by and sale to under 18s; drink-driving; and drunkenness/public
disorder. In addition to our work in this area at a national level
[see attached key TPG publications listed at Annex 1 [not printed],
it is worth mentioning that our charitable arm, The Portman Group
Trust (TPGT), has supported a number of local initiatives which
have as their aim the reduction of public disorder and anti-social
behaviour eg Crystal Clear in Merseyside, Nightsafe in Lancashire,
Burnley Alcohol Action Group and numerous local pubwatch schemes.
OVERVIEW
In recent years there has been an increasing
focus on alcohol's contribution to violence and anti-social behaviour
particularly in association with youth "binge drinking".
The Strategy Unit's Interim Analytical Report[137]
estimated the economic costs of alcohol-related harm to be at
around £19.4 billion with crime and public disorder accounting
for £7.3 billion of the total. The current National Alcohol
Harm Reduction Strategy for England provides an excellent opportunity
for a range of key stakeholders, including the industry, to make
a positive contribution towards reducing the serious and growing
problems associated with alcohol misuse in this country. TPG would
observe that there is much that currently exists in law, regulation
and good practice that is designed to tackle alcohol-related crime
and disorder. The Strategy Unit's interim analysis of alcohol
harm and the Ministerial Working Group on alcohol-related harm
chaired by Hazel Blears both conducted thorough evaluations on
alcohol-related harm and concluded that there is a need for more
rigorous enforcement of existing legislation rather than new regulation.
A partnership approach is crucial to the effectiveness
of any strategies to reduce alcohol-related crime and disorder;
the current, statutory, local crime and disorder reduction partnerships
(CDRPs) are an important vehicle for helping to reduce alcohol-related
crime and disorder. Although we would submit that there is a need
for better understanding of the precise nature and extent of the
link between alcohol and crime/violence, we believe that priority
should be given to taking practical steps to alleviate alcohol-related
crime and violence based on evidence of best practice.
THE CAUSES
OF ALCOHOL
RELATED CRIME
AND DISORDER
There has been considerable research into the
link between alcohol and crime/disorder and it is generally acknowledged
that the relationship is a complex one. The Strategy Unit's interim
analysis of alcohol harm[138]
found that "alcohol misuse can contribute to various types
of anti-social, violent or aggressive behaviour through a complex
interplay of factors. These include its pharmacological effect
on the body and our social norms and expectations about acceptable
behaviour when drinking or when drunk."
THE EFFECTIVENESS
AND PROPORTIONALITY
OF CURRENT
POWERS
TPG believes that existing laws relating to
the sale and consumption of alcohol and alcohol-related crimes
(including those that relate to drink-driving) provide an adequate
level of protection to society though we would like to see more
rigorous enforcement in some areas. TPG believes that law enforcement
bodies should give higher priority to enforcing existing laws
on the sale and consumption of alcohol, making full use of test
purchasing powers available to police and trading standards offices
and giving a higher profile to the relatively new offence of proxy
purchase. There is also a need for more rigorous enforcement of
existing laws against drunkenness and serving intoxicated persons.
TPG welcomed and participated in the planning
of the recent Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaign led by the Home
Office Police Standards Unit and ACPO. This has certainly helped
to raise awareness of the range of powers available to police
and trading standards officers (TSOs) in helping to tackle alcohol-related
crime and disorder. High profile media coverage of the campaign
has sent out strong messages that irresponsible behaviour will
not be tolerated. We would hope that law enforcement agencies
continue to make full use the range of powers available to them,
targeting irresponsible retailers and consumers alike, to sustain
a "zero tolerance" climate around drunkenness and underage
misuse.
TPG is concerned to note that numbers of prosecutions
for both underage purchase/sale and drunkenness behaviour have
dropped sharply over the last 10 or so years. We are concerned
too to note that average fines on conviction have fallen over
the same period. Average fines for drunkenness are currently around
£100 while those for selling to under 18s are around £90.
It has been suggested that current low levels of fines may be
inhibiting prosecuting authorities from bringing prosecutions
relating to underage sale/purchase and/or drunkenness for fear
that they will not be able to recover costs. The wider use of
Fixed Penalty Notices and Anti-social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs)
should make it easier to enforce legislation on underage sale/purchase
and drunkenness although penalties should be appropriate to the
crime; serious breaches should be given appropriate penalties,
not least to send out some strong messages to society at large.
TPG is pleased to note the recent announcement that the maximum
penalty for selling to under 18s will be increased from £1,000
to £5,000.
We have already made public our views on the
Government's proposals to reform the current licensing laws. [139]We
welcome the proposed move towards a more flexible licensing regime
as set out in the Licensing Act 2003. We consider in particular
that ending permitted hours and encouraging more family-friendly
licensed premises would make a valuable contribution towards encouraging
a more responsible drinking culture in England and Wales, although
we do believe this needs to be balanced by rigorous enforcement
of the law on serving drunks and underage customers as well as
compliance with published guidelines published by the British
Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) on responsible promotions. Licensed
premises will also need rigorously to adhere to the Secretary
of State's statutory guidance under the new Licensing Act on these
points. To assist them in complying, TPG provides a wide range
of materials for use at point of sale and in staff training.
THE ROLE
OF INDUSTRY
The broader alcohol/hospitality industry is
uniquely placed to help reduce alcohol-related problems in and
around licensed premises and has a unique responsibility to do
so. It can achieve this through, for example, providing responsible
server training and following best practice in operating licensed
premises. There is clear evidence that some environmental and
situational strategies can have a significant impact on reducing
levels of assault and injury in and around licensed premises.
Examples of best practice in the UK were set out by TPG in the
publication Keeping the Peace—a Guide to the prevention
of alcohol related disorder (1998). These include but are
not limited to:
— strategic partnerships to develop
and maintain community safety strategies;
— pubwatch and clubwatch schemes;
— use of CCTV particularly in town
centres;
— regular, reliable late night transport;
— use of toughened glass;
— use of exclusion orders;
— responsible retailer promotions;
— routinely asking for reliable proof
of age;
— training for doorstaff and servers;
— good design principles in licensed
premises.
Further examples of good practice mentioned
elsewhere in the research literature include the availability
of a wide range of non-alcoholic beverages and the availability
of food in licensed premises. In addition to creating a more subdued
social atmosphere, eating while drinking slows the biological
process of intoxication.
There is evidence that, since the publication
of Keeping the Peace, there has been a significant increase in
adoption of those good practice models featured in the guide and
other similar guides such as the BBPA's Security in Design leaflet.
There are increasing numbers of pubwatch schemes in operation,
many of them receiving support and advice from the National Pubwatch
Scheme, which has a distribution of over 17,000 for its newsletter.
The use of toughened glass and other glass alternatives continues
to increase. The British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) continues
to develop the range of courses available to those who work in
licensed premises. These and many in-house training schemes contain
guidance on calming potentially violent situations. Initiatives
such as "Servewise" in Scotland are examples of industry
training schemes directed at preventing crime and disorder on
licensed premises.
There has been serious, persistent and often
well-justified concern over the nature of some retailer promotions
in pubs, clubs and bars, on the grounds that they encourage excessive
consumption and/or anti-social behaviour. (Examples include "half
price drinks until the first goal is scored" and "drink
yourself under the table and we'll call an ambulance to take you
home".) TPG welcomes guidelines on responsible promotions
issued by the BBPA[140]
as well as the inclusion of guidance on responsible promotion
in company polices (eg Mitchells and Butlers, Scottish and Newcastle).
We were pleased to note that Secretary of State's guidance to
the Licensing Act 2003 includes a clear expectation that licensees
should comply with the BBPA's guidelines on responsible promotions.
EDUCATION (CHILDREN)
TPG believes that education can and should play
a primary role in shaping responsible attitudes towards alcohol.
It is right that the drinks industry should play a role in the
education of its future customers, provided that this is done
in a balanced way and does not seek to persuade young people that
they should drink, either now or in the future. All our educational
materials are produced in line with accepted good practice and
reflect current thinking about the most effective ways of delivering
alcohol education.
TPG supports alcohol education for young people
in a number of ways. For example, we produce and distribute the
following materials free of charge:
— We've seen people drinking—a
resource for use in primary schools;
— Finding out about drinking alcohol—a
resource for use in secondary schools;
— A-Z Alcohol Education Resource Directory—a
comprehensive listing of materials for use by teachers and others
who work with young people;
— Postcards—a set of four cartoon-style
postcards aimed at 11-16 year olds that offer information on the
dangers of alcohol misuse;
— In your face—a video and accompanying
discussion booklet suitable for classes of students aged 14-18;
— Discussing drinking with your children—a
booklet designed to help parents to talk about alcohol issues
with their children.
In addition we provide funding through our sister
organisation, The Portman Group Trust, for local projects designed
to promote responsible drinking and to help prevent alcohol misuse.
Many of these projects are educational initiatives aimed at young
people.
TPG believes that parents can and should play
an important role in teaching children about alcohol and encouraging
responsible attitudes towards drinking. Our MORI survey[141]
shows that a large majority (78%) of the British public believes
that parents are one of the most important sources of information
about alcohol and sensible drinking for children. One of our most
popular resources is a resource for parents. Discussing drinking
with your children—a guide for parents, has received
positive independent evaluation. This leaflet has proved enormously
popular in the nine years that it has been in publication and
we distribute an average of 500,000 pa on demand via GP surgeries,
libraries, health promotion agencies and school PTAs. Development
is underway for an additional resource for "harder to reach"
parents who may not have the literacy skills to absorb or fully
understand Discussing drinking with your children. TPG
has further commissioned research to explore the role of parents
in the delivery of alcohol education with a view to improving
parent/child communication about alcohol issues. The findings
of this research will be available towards the end of 2004 and
we would be happy to share these with the Home Affairs Committee.
There is evidence of a need for improvement
in the delivery of alcohol education. Competing pressures in the
curriculum mean that alcohol is often sidelined (compared with
education on illicit drugs and tobacco) and many teachers feel
inadequately trained to teach about alcohol. TPG recommends that
a higher profile be given to alcohol education within the statutory
requirements of the national curriculum from KS2 onwards. Although
the Government's Blueprint research programme includes alcohol
education, the focus is primarily on drugs. TPG believes that
more resources should be put towards replicating programmes with
proven positive outcomes such as the School Health and Alcohol
Harm Reduction Project (SHAHRP) in Australia. Ongoing evaluations
of SHAHRP[142]
have demonstrated both attitude change and a significant reduction
in alcohol related harm particularly among students who were supervised
drinkers prior to the intervention (which began at age 13). Replication
of this programme in the UK would be useful, particularly as there
is evidence of cultural transferability of drinking interventions
between the UK and Australia, although it should be noted that
such a trial would require major funding.
Whilst formal alcohol education is undoubtedly
important, we should not neglect education outside the classroom.
TPG's Taskforce on Underage Alcohol Misuse highlighted that theatre-in-education
(TIE) can play a useful role in alcohol education programmes.
The Portman Group Trust regularly provides grants to local TIE
companies, enabling schools to hire them at a subsidised cost
as part of a broader alcohol education programme. For older children,
peer education projects and those delivered by detached youth
workers outside school and home settings have been shown to be
successful. [143]TPG
has actively supported such projects in the past through for example
a £60,000 fund in 1998 for community-based alcohol education
projects which was administered by The Prince's Trust. These types
of interventions are particularly important for "at risk"
children or young adults, who may be excluded or absent from school
and/or come from dysfunctional families where alcohol misuse may
be a problem.
TACKLING "BINGE
DRINKING" AMONG
YOUNG ADULTS
TPG is concerned that young adults in the UK
see binge drinking or drunkenness as normal behaviour. Studies
show that between 30% and 39% of 18-24s drink to get drunk regularly.
This is of course a significant minority, yet as many as 75% of
18-24 year olds believe that their peers drink in order to get
drunk, and among binge drinkers themselves, this figure rises
to 90%. According to a survey carried out by Vision 21 for TPG
in July 2003, nearly 90% of 18-30 year olds think that it is normal
to get drunk on holiday. Unless such "norms" are challenged,
it is likely that binge drinking will continue to escalate as
more and more young adults think this it is what they are expected
to do.
A number of recent studies[144],
[145]
have given us some valuable insights into social context and possible
motivations for young Britons' binge drinking behaviour. In addition
to the "social norming" effect and a widespread belief
among young adults that drinking to get drunk is analogous with
"having a good time", it would appear that escapism
or release from everyday life and poor self esteem are also strong
contributory factors to binge drinking among young adults. It
is important fully to understand the motivations for binge drinking
culture in order to develop effective interventions and messages
for this particular audience.
For the past three years TPG has been the only
organisation campaigning nationally against drunkenness. Ongoing
evaluations of our current anti-drunkenness campaign, which uses
a number of innovative campaign vehicles such as pub theatre,
"viewrinals", online games, viral emails and "talking
posters", indicate that the message has been extremely well-received
by the target audience. Over the summer we piloted cinema advertisements
and posters in the East Midlands. The campaign has been evaluated
and will be disseminated to relevant Government departments when
it becomes available. If it is positive, then we would hope for
Government backing to roll the campaign out nationally.
Our experience has shown that cinema, viral
emails and online games are very effective ways of getting alcohol
messages to young adults. We would further recommend that "best
practice" in health promotion messages targeted at young
adults should:
— Speak from a position of equality
and not authority;
— Focus on the immediate consequences
of misuse (eg accidents, injuries, sexual risks etc) which should
be presented in such a way that they are grounded in the reality
of young people's experiences;
— Aim to incorporate an element of
surprise and/or use innovative mechanisms;
— Use shock tactics sparingly and in
a non-patronising way.
SUMMARY OF
RECOMMENDATIONS
Our response concludes with a summary of the
main recommendations contained in this response. We recommend:
— that awareness and enforcement measures
in relation to proxy purchase be strengthened;
— wider use of the full range of powers
available to police and partner agencies, including wider use
of test purchasing;
— tougher penalties particularly for
underage sales/purchase and drunkenness offences;
— that the licensed trade further implement
those examples of best practice which have been shown to have
an impact on reducing levels of assault and injury in and around
licensed premises (as set out, for example in TPG's guide Keeping
the Peace—a Guide to the prevention of alcohol related disorder
(1998));
— that examples of successful Local
Crime and Disorder Partnerships are "showcased" so that
others can follow by example;
— wider use of Fixed Penalty Notices
and Anti-social Behaviour Orders for low level offences.
21 September 2004
136 Member companies: Allied Domecq, Bacardi Brown
Forman Brands, Beverage Brands (UK) Ltd, Carlsberg UK, Coors
Brewers, Diageo Great Britain, Interbrew UK, Pernod Ricard, Scottish
& Newcastle. Associate member companies: Enterprise Inns,
Laurel Pub Company, Mitchells and Butlers, Pubmaster, Thresher
Group, Union Pub Company/Pathfinder Pubs and JD Wetherspoon. Back
137
Strategy Unit Alcohol Harm Reduction project: Interim Analytical
Report, 2003. Back
138
Op. cit. Back
139
Response by The Portman Group to "Time for Reform: Proposals
for the Modernisation of our Licensing Laws", The Portman
Group, July 2002. Back
140
BBPA (2001) Point of Sale Promotions-A Good Practice Guide for
Pub Owners and Licensees. Back
141
Alcohol and Society. (2000) MORI for TPG. Back
142
McBride, N. et al. Harm minimisation in school drug education:
final results of the School Health and Alcohol Harm Reduction
Project (SHAHRP) (2004) Addiction, Vol 99, No 3, pp278-291. Back
143
Under the Influence-the Report of the Taskforce on Underage Alcohol
Misuse (1997) The Portman Group. Back
144
Drunk and disorderly: a qualitative study of binge drinking among
18-24 year olds. (2003) Engineer, R. et al. Home Office. Back
145
Binge drinking and youth culture-alternative perspectives. 2004
MacLachlan. M. and Smyth, C. The Liffey Press. Back
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