Alcohol - Health Committee Contents


Memorandum by the Home Office (AL 74)

SOCIAL COSTS OF ALCOHOL MISUSE

  The Home Office estimates that the social cost of alcohol related crime and disorder in 2007-08 was between £8 billion and £13 billion.[94] This estimate takes into account the costs in anticipation of crime, the direct physical and emotional costs to victims, the value of lost output, and the costs to the health service and Criminal Justice System. It is estimated on the basis of attributable fractions calculated from the Offending, Crime and Justice Survey.

  However, this estimate is likely to be an underestimate, as we do not know what proportion of the £3.4 billion cost of anti-social behaviour[95] is alcohol-related. This estimate also excludes any social costs associated with the fear of crime.

HOME OFFICE STRATEGIES

  In June 2007, the Home Office, along with the Department of Health, the Department for Education and Skills and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, published Safe. Sensible. Social. The next steps in the National Alcohol Strategy. In the strategy, we identified three priority groups for action: young people under 18 who drink alcohol, 18-24 year old binge drinkers, and harmful drinkers. The strategy set out a number of key actions which have since been implemented, including rolling out local alcohol strategies, conducting an independent review of how alcohol is sold and promoted, piloting Alcohol Arrest Referral schemes and launching the award-winning "Know Your Limits" campaign.

  In June 2008, the Department for Children, Schools and Families, the Home Office and the Department of Health published the Youth Alcohol Action Plan (YAAP). This set out measures to address drinking by young people, including working with the police and courts to tackle drinking in public, providing clear information for parents and young people, and working with the industry to tackle underage sales and to promote the responsible sale of alcohol.

ENFORCEMENT OF EXISTING LEGISLATION

  We share concerns about the effective enforcement of existing legislation and have a programme of work in place to address this. Last year we trained over 1,300 front-line practitioners in the full range of alcohol related tools and powers available to them and we have recently begun a series of 40 workshops to train a further 2,000 to 2,500 practitioners in our priority areas. Earlier this year we spent £1.5 million on targeted enforcement campaigns in the 40 to 50 areas of most concern to us, that is those areas with high levels of alcohol related crime and high public perceptions of drunk or rowdy behaviour, and we have also spent a further £3 million supporting local alcohol related partnership activity.

  In relation to the offence of selling alcohol to someone who is intoxicated, enforcing this legislation is particularly difficult as it requires the police to be present when the sale is made. Large-scale enforcement would therefore be extremely expensive and is impractical. Instead, we believe that it is more effective to focus on training those serving alcohol to spot and deal with those who are intoxicated and we are working closely with the industry through schemes such as Pubwatch and Best Bar None to achieve this. We are also considering the issue of training in our public consultation on the new code of practice for alcohol retailers.

July 2009







94   Impact Assessment of a Code of Practice for the Alcohol Industry, Home Office. Back

95   One day count of anti-social behaviour, Home Office. Back


 
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