Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 2nd November 2022 to Question 72439 on Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse, for what reason his Department has not made a specific assessment on the independent review of alcohol harms; and whether he intends to meet with Alcohol Change UK when his Department conducts an independent review of alcohol harms.

The Government is addressing alcohol-related harms through commitments in the ‘Advancing our health: prevention in the 2020s’ green paper, the NHS Long Term Plan, improvements to the substance misuse treatment system through the drugs strategy ‘From harm to hope: A 10-year drugs plan to cut crime and save lives’ and action to reduce alcohol-related crime.

We regularly engage with stakeholders from the third sector, including Alcohol Change UK, which is a member of the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities’ Alcohol Advisory Group. The Group meets quarterly and informs the approach to the Department’s work on reducing alcohol-related harms.