§ Mr. DenhamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost to the NHS of treating the victims of alcohol-related violence in town and city centres. [136360]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe most recent estimates of costs to the national health service arising from alcohol-related illness and disease was undertaken by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit and published in their Interim Analytical Report on 19 September 2003. This document reported the annual cost of alcohol-related attendances at accident and emergency (A and E) units and alcohol-related ambulance journeys in England at around £0.5 billion per year. This estimate covers all alcohol-related attendances at A and E and ambulance journeys, and does not break the costs down by reason for attendance. However a proportion of these costs will be attributable to alcohol-related violence in town centres.