Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduced alcohol addiction amongst people aged over 50 years old.

Local authorities are responsible for commissioning effective drug and alcohol prevention and treatment services based on an assessment of local need. Public Health England (PHE) supports local authorities in this work, by providing bespoke data, value for money tools, topical briefings, and advice on good practice to help local authorities meet the needs of their local population, including older people.

PHE is engaged in a series of work programmes which aim to reduce the incidence of substance addiction and help provide support to older people, such as advocating the national roll out of an alcohol misuse screening question that has been part of the NHS Health Check since 2013. The NHS Health Check is offered to around 3 million 40-74 year olds per year.

In addition, the UK Chief Medical Officers have produced new low risk drinking guidelines which provide the public with the latest information about the health risks of different levels and patterns of drinking. The guidelines enable people to make informed choices about their drinking. The guidelines are available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alcohol-consumption-advice-on-low-risk-drinking