Greater Manchester authorities to consider region-wide alcohol strategy

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority will this week consider the adoption of a region-wide alcohol strategy which calls, amongst other things, for licensing powers to be more effective and used consistently.

A report, which estimates the annual cost to the region of dealing with the effects of excessive drinking at £1.2bn, also recommended that the strategy should: put the right services in place to protect victims of domestic abuse; and support public health activity to reduce the levels of drinking across the whole local population with a focus on education.

The report said implementing the strategy would involve a commitment from all ten councils - as well as the police and health services - to work together to tackle the causes and effects of alcohol abuse.

The strategy, which can be viewed here, will go before council leaders at the next meeting of the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities on 29 August.

If it is approved, it would be the first time in the UK such a large number of public bodies have united to launch an alcohol strategy.

Eleven proposed priorities are contained in the draft strategy. They are:

  1. Promoting the effective and consistent use of licensing/regulatory tools and powers to reduce demand, including through enforcement-based activities and wider voluntary agreements with the alcohol trade.
  2. Promoting consistent, appropriate and effective use of tools to address alcohol-related antisocial behaviour, including new measures within the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.
  3. Ensuring that Greater Manchester leads the way on best practice alcohol marketing.
  4. Continuing to lobby government for national implementation of a minimum unit price.
  5. Defining and supporting implementation of best practice approaches to reduce alcohol-related harm in Greater Manchester’s night-time economies (NTEs).
  6. Supporting the prioritisation of domestic abuse victims, promoting data sharing and new approaches as a part of Greater Manchester’s programme to address complex dependency.
  7. Developing and evaluating interventions to address alcohol and wider substance misuse by offenders at the point of arrest, sentence and release.
  8. Prioritising activity that supports attitude and behaviour change among young people and their families, and challenges social norms.
  9. Ensuring consistency of best practice in the delivery/uptake of alcohol identification and brief advice.
  10. Supporting the development of local recovery organisations and networks, creating the conditions to maximise their role as community assets for reducing alcohol harm.
  11. Ensuring a collaborative and evidence-based approach to commissioning interventions that address alcohol dependence effectively.

The strategy says that promising approaches to licensing and regulation from other parts of the country will be reviewed, with a focus on working collaboratively with the industry to promote responsible retailing.

“This will review, for example, opportunities to use voluntary agreements to control the availability of high-strength alcohol products in partnership with the industry, and district-based pilot work will test these approaches as one facet of a rounded local response.”

It added that three key outcomes were sought:

  • A reduction in alcohol-related crime, antisocial behaviour and domestic abuse;
  • A reduction in alcohol-related health harms;
  • Establishment of diverse, vibrant and safe night-time economies.

Progress against the implementation plan for the strategy will be overseen by the Police and Crime Steering Group.

Mike Connolly, Leader of Bury Council, said: “The impact of alcohol abuse is everybody’s business. It impacts on the health and wellbeing of our residents, the safety of our communities and the future success of our town centres and their night-time economies. It’s essential we team up, roll up our sleeves to tackle this scourge on society together.

“It’s obviously not a problem just for Greater Manchester but the facts speak for themselves. Thirty eight per cent of violent incidents that result in an injury involve alcohol and one in three domestic incidents is alcohol related. Typically, people battling with alcohol die earlier, go to hospital more often and struggle to hold down regular work.”

Connolly added: “Binge drinking also has a massive effect on our town centres, putting pressure on businesses and impacting on the safety of our residents. We must join forces to tackle this now.”

Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan of Greater Manchester Police said: “Greater Manchester has many areas which have a thriving nightlife but unfortunately long opening hours of pubs and clubs and the easy availability and cheap cost of buying alcohol from supermarkets has meant more people are getting excessively drunk and causing a nuisance and harm to themselves and others.

“This results in an increase in demands on the police, health services and local councils who are faced with managing both the risks to individuals and the damage that is caused to lives and our streets.

“I am confident that once a strategy is agreed it will ensure that measures are put in place which will have a long lasting impact on alcohol abuse in Greater Manchester and the problems caused by it.”