Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy (Hansard, 22 March 2004)

§ The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal)
My Lords, the strategy includes a series of measures aimed at achieving a long-term change in attitudes to irresponsible drinking and behaviour. We will work in partnership at both the national and local level with a range of agencies, including the alcoholic drinks industry, to challenge the binge-drinking culture.

§ Baroness Buscombe
My Lords, I thank the Minister for her reply. In practice, who will be in charge of the so-called cross-departmental national and local new partnership? Will it be the Home Office, which wants to impose more draconian measures, having so far failed to combat binge drinking, according to its own leaked report? Will it be the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which has liberalised our licensing laws? Will it be the Department of Health, bearing in mind that alcohol is behind 40 per cent of accident and emergency admissions and that alcohol misuse costs £20 billion a year in healthcare and lost earnings?

§ Baroness Scotland of Asthal
My Lords, in order for the strategy to be successful, it must be owned by all. It is not something that the Government can do on their own. Individuals, communities and the industry must take responsibility, and there must be a joined-up government response. That is what the strategy sets out: a holistic response that will make a difference. The noble Baroness will know that the empirical data support the suggestion that only when we join up will we make a successful impact.

§ Lord Turnberg
My Lords, does my noble friend agree that one way in which we can reduce excessive alcohol consumption is to reduce the ludicrously large amounts of alcohol that we are allowed to bring across the English Channel duty-free?

§ Baroness Scotland of Asthal
My Lords, I hear what my noble friend says, but it does not matter how much we bring across; what matters is how much we consume. Some of us consume nothing at all; others consume a great deal.

§ Baroness Sharples
My Lords, am I alone in wondering how young people can afford binge drinking? Are the parents largely to blame?

§ Baroness Scotland of Asthal
My Lords, we have a buoyant economy at the moment, and we thank God for it. I do not know how all young people afford binge 466 drinking, but it certainly causes great concern. That is why I say that responsibility lies with everyone, not just one sector.

§ Lord Avebury
My Lords, have the Minister and her colleagues seen the BBC programmes "Drunk and Dangerous"? They portrayed a horrifying picture of mayhem on the streets of our towns and cities every Friday and Saturday night. When will the Government publish the report by Professor Colin Drummond of St George's Hospital Medical School and others, which showed that 70 per cent of attendees at A&E departments between midnight and 5 a.m. were alcohol positive? Does the Minister really think that jargon about holistic approaches is an adequate response to the carnage that we see every weekend?

§ Baroness Scotland of Asthal
My Lords, it is not jargon. I remind the noble Lord that all the evidence shows that, in order to make an impact, we need a multi-faceted response. I cannot give the noble Lord precise details of when the St George's report will be published, but I can tell him that Professor John Shepherd from Cardiff played a large role in the deliberations that led to the strategy. We are determined to make an impact on the behaviour of young people, particularly with regard to drinking, and I agree with the noble Lord that that will make a difference.

§ Baroness Howarth of Breckland
My Lords, does the Minister agree that action on binge drinking, like all excessive drinking, must be part of all the other programmes? We discussed that in the domestic violence debate, and we discuss it in child abuse programmes. The matter should be taken forward in all government policies, as it cannot be seen in isolation.

§ Baroness Scotland of Asthal
My Lords, I reassure the noble Baroness that the matter is not seen in isolation. She is right: crime figures—in particular, domestic violence figures—show that alcohol seems to play a large part in the abuse that takes place. That is why we need an integrated approach across government, together with the industry, to address the issues.

§ Lord McNally
My Lords, is that not precisely the reason why there is such grave concern? Road accidents, domestic violence and sexual assaults—the litany goes on—are directly related to alcohol, but the Government are going ahead with the relaxation of our licensing laws, even though every report that comes out questions the wisdom of that strategy.

§ Baroness Scotland of Asthal
My Lords, I hear what the noble Baroness—I mean "the noble Lord"; his attractions are overwhelming—is saying. We will monitor the impact of the Licensing Act 2003 on crime and disorder and on other licensing objectives under the Act. If necessary, we will, in the light of those findings, introduce further legislation, with the consent of Parliament, to strengthen or alter any provision.
467 It would be wrong for noble Lords simply to say glibly that the relaxation of licensing laws was a cause. Your Lordships will know that we had a problem before the new Act, which brings in several important measures that will help us to control the abuse of alcohol, not least the ability to remove it from those who have already had a little too much.

§ Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe
My Lords, does my noble friend agree that the position that we face now is worse than it was when the Government came to power seven years ago? Those of us who have been waiting for the strategy are, to say the least, disappointed that a greater onus has not been placed on the shoulders of the alcoholic drinks industry. If the voluntary approach does not work, how long will we have to wait before we see legislation to toughen things up?

§ Baroness Scotland of Asthal
My Lords, I hear my noble friend's disappointment. I do not agree that the situation is worse than it was before the Government came into office. We have had a favourable response to the voluntary scheme from the industry. We want to work energetically with the industry to make sure that it takes the issues on board voluntarily. Of course, if the voluntary scheme does not work, we will have to look for other options

§ Baroness O'Cathain
My Lords, will the Minister say whether the Government are consulting other European countries? This is not just a United Kingdom problem. Binge drinking by young people is going on in many other member states, including Ireland, where there is a huge problem at the moment. Are we finding out what other countries are doing? Is there a sort of pan-European group that could assist to formulate a strategy?

§ Baroness Scotland of Asthal
My Lords, the noble Baroness will know that, in general, we consider what other countries have done. I cannot answer specifically on those matters, but, as part of the justice and home affairs agenda, we talk regularly with our European partners about the issues that affect us jointly. I shall endeavour to find out precisely what is happening on the European dimension and write to the noble Baroness with a more specific response.