House of Commons · Westminster Hall
18 January 2023 · 1 other contributor · 3,855 words
Opened by Dan Carden Lab Liverpool Walton
Responding minister: Chris Philp
Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.
Dan Carden raised concerns about government alcohol strategy 2012 in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.
Key points
Key requests to Government
The Government should conduct an independent review of alcohol leading to a new strategy for the future that focuses on evidence-based interventions to reduce harm.
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.
Opened the debate
The harms of alcohol have not decreased in the past decade; instead, they have increased. Deaths caused by alcoholic liver disease are up by a third and alcohol-related deaths have risen by 27% in the last two years alone. Alcohol-specific hospital admissions in England exceed 980,000 annually and one in five children is living with an adult who has an alcohol use disorder. The Government's failure to deliver on its promises has led to a crisis.
Jim Shannon highlighted that alcohol-related deaths have increased significantly, with 70 people dying each day due to alcohol. He pointed out a rise in alcohol fatalities by 13% across the UK from 2001 to 2018 and a staggering 40% increase in Northern Ireland between 2012 and 2017. Shannon urged the Government to address this issue independently of broader health concerns.
Government Response
Chris PhilpIt is a pleasure to serve under the chairmanship of Mr Bone. I thank Dan Carden for securing the debate and bringing this topic to attention, acknowledging his personal experience with alcohol issues. The 2012 alcohol strategy aimed to reduce harm from excessive drinking without affecting moderate drinkers; many measures were implemented, such as enhanced powers against problematic premises, increased fines for underage sales, mandatory licensing conditions strengthening, restrictive promotion laws, late-night levies for local councils, and new powers tackling alcohol-related issues including closure and dispersal. The minister highlights the reduction in violent crimes linked to alcohol from 1 million incidents in 2009-10 to 525,000 in 2019-20, a drop by half. Additionally, there was a decrease in percentage of adults consuming alcohol weekly (64% in 2009 to 54% in 2019) and binge drinking (20% in 2009 to 15% in 2014). However, alcohol-specific deaths slightly increased during the pandemic. The government has introduced measures such as alcohol monitoring and abstinence licence conditions for prison leavers since November 2021 with over 900 conditions imposed, and community sentence alcohol abstinence monitoring requirements for up to 120 days with tags used to monitor compliance, imposing over 5,000 orders. The drug strategy published in December 2021 has integrated treatment of drugs and alcohol, funded by £86 million and an additional £10 million for in-patient detox beds. As part of the NHS long-term plan, there is a £27 million investment to establish specialist alcohol care teams in hospitals with high rates of alcohol harm and socioeconomic deprivation, estimated to prevent 50,000 hospital admissions over five years. The minister also acknowledges the need for more referrals into treatment options like mental health, drug or alcohol treatment as an alternative.