Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help educate children on alcohol harm.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department for Education’s statutory guidance, Relationships education, relationships and sex education and health education, became mandatory in September 2020. Through this, education on drugs, alcohol, and tobacco became compulsory at state-funded primary and secondary schools, teaching children and young people how to manage influences and pressure, and keep themselves healthy and safe.
The Government also has an information and advice service called Talk to FRANK, which aims to reduce the use of substances and their harms, by providing awareness to young people, parents, and concerned others. Further information is available at the following link:
Guidance from England’s Chief Medical Officer for healthcare professionals is clear, that an alcohol-free childhood is the healthiest and best option. The Department promotes these through online platforms such as NHS.UK website, the Talk to FRANK online resource, and the GOV.UK website. Local authorities promote these guidelines as part of their public health duties.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of new data from the Office for National Statistics showing that alcohol-specific deaths are now 32.8 per cent higher than in 2019 and at an all-time high; and what steps they plan to take to tackle rising alcohol harm.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government keeps all official health data related to alcohol consumption and alcohol related harms under regular review. The 2021 Public Health England publication, Monitoring alcohol consumption and harm during the COVID-19 pandemic, found that increases in alcohol consumption since the beginning of the pandemic tended to be among people who were already heavy drinkers before this period, which may be a factor in the increase.
The most effective way to prevent alcohol specific deaths, is drinking within the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers’ low-risk drinking guidelines, namely under 14 units per week. The Government is supporting people who drink above low-risk levels to reduce their alcohol consumption. As part of the NHS Health Check, questions are asked about alcohol consumption, and appropriate advice given to support people to make healthier choices. Those identified to be drinking at higher-risk levels are referred for liver investigation. The Department is also supporting people with alcohol dependency through the Drug Strategy and NHS Long Term Plan, by facilitating more people in need of treatment into local authority commissioned alcohol treatment services.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria she uses to assess the success of Government policy on (a) alcohol use and (b) alcohol harm.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have a range of metrics which we monitor to assess the success of our work to reduce alcohol harm, including the Health Survey for England. The Government takes a wide-ranging approach to addressing alcohol-related harms, including promoting the United Kingdom’s Chief Medical Officer’s low risk drinking guidance. Approximately 80% of adults drink within the guidelines of 14 units of alcohol a week.
Population level alcohol consumption has remained stable over recent years. Among children aged 11 to 15 years old, alcohol consumption has decreased significantly in the last 20 years. However, while we are seeing an increasing number of people drinking at lower levels or abstaining, we have also seen more people drinking at higher-risk levels. As a result, some indicators of harm have increased, and we are committed to addressing these, including through the establishment of alcohol care teams in the 25% acute hospitals in England with the greatest need, through the NHS Long Term Plan.
Community treatment for alcohol dependence is highly effective. In 2020/21, 62% of people in alcohol-only treatment completed treatment free of dependence, the highest completion rate for any substance misuse group. We have committed to making further improvements to the alcohol and drug treatment system through the 10-year Drug Strategy.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has she made of the potential implications for her policies of public health approaches to alcohol from other countries; and whether she has made an assessment of which country provides the best practice model.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department maintains an interest in the effectiveness of policies implemented by other countries, to reduce alcohol harms. The 2016 Public Health England publication, The public health burden of alcohol: evidence review, reviewed effective policies for reducing alcohol harms in countries who are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Officials in the Department frequently engage with international colleagues, and those in the devolved administrations, to exchange ideas, experience, and evidence when developing new policies.
The Government was involved in the work by the World Health Organization (WHO) to develop an action plan to strengthen the implementation of the Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol. We were pleased that the action plan was adopted at the 75th World Health Assembly in May 2022. The United Kingdom will continue to work with the WHO and member states on alcohol harm reduction.
Asked by: Simon Jupp (Conservative - East Devon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking the help reduce the number of drug offences in (a) East Devon constituency and (b) Devon.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Reducing drug-related crime is a key priority of the Government’s 10-year Drugs Strategy. We are making good progress. Since April 2022, we have closed over 2,500 county lines nationally.
Through the County Lines Programme, our exporter force taskforces (Metropolitain Police Service, Merseyside, West Midlands and Greater Manchester Police) work in collaboration with importer forces, including Devon & Cornwall Police, to tackle the drug supply and exploitation associated with County Lines.
Through our County Lines Programme, we also fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC), to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response. We have also established a dedicated Surge Fund to help forces tackle county lines, from which Devon and Cornwall Police have received investment.
Through the Drugs Strategy, we are also investing £532m into high quality drug treatment which reduces crime and reoffending. There are now 24,500 more people in treatment across England, including Devon.
The Government has asked every area in England to form a Combating Drugs Partnership (CDP) to work together to reduce drug-related harm and crime. East Devon is covered by the Devon CDP. The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Devon and Cornwall has established a Strategic Peninsular Drugs & Alcohol Partnership which meets 4 times a year and serves as a forum for the 4 CDPs (including Devon CDP) to come together at a Police Force Area level.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will meet charities representing people affected by alcohol harm to inform her Department’s work on health prevention.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department meets regularly with alcohol charity representatives, at a ministerial and official level, and is content to continue to do so, to support and inform our work in tackling alcohol related health harms.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of developing a cross-departmental strategy to tackle alcohol harm.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government takes a wide-ranging approach to addressing alcohol-related harms, including through taking forward the commitments set out in Advancing our health: prevention in the 2020s, to increase the availability of no- and low-alcohol alternatives, establish alcohol care teams in the 25% of acute hospitals in England with the greatest need as part of the NHS Long Term Plan, and improve the alcohol and drug treatment system through the 10-year Drug Strategy.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to increase public awareness of links between heart disease in women and alcohol consumption.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Health Check is England’s cardiovascular disease prevention programme. It aims to prevent heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and kidney disease, and some cases of dementia among adults aged 40 to 74 years old. Each year the programme engages over one million people, including women, and prevents approximately 400 heart attacks or strokes. The provision of an alcohol risk assessment, and brief advice about alcohol harm, is a requirement in the NHS Health Check. The guidance to practitioners sets out that people identified as drinking at higher-risk levels should be referred for a liver check, as recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. In addition, the United Kingdom’s Chief Medical Officer’s Low risk drinking guidelines and National Health Service guidance highlight that alcohol use is a risk factor for heart disease.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of people recalled to prison were recalled due to (a) new offences, (b) a lack of address and (c) non-compliance with appointments in the latest 12 months for which data is available.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Public protection is our priority. The decision to recall on offender on licensed supervision is taken on the professional advice of senior probation staff following consideration of safe alternatives to recall. Where offenders are recalled, it is because they present a risk of serious harm to the public and the controls available are no longer sufficient to keep the public safe. These individuals will remain in prison for only as long as necessary to protect the public.
Reasons for recall are recorded and published as set out in the table below. Further breakdown of recall reasons is not possible without significant manual checks.
Recall period | Oct-Dec 2022 | Jan-Mar 2023* | Apr-Jun 2023 | Jul-Sep 2023 | % Proportion |
Total Recalls | 6,092 | 6,824 | 6,814 | 7,030 |
|
Facing further charge | 1,821 | 1,977 | 1,883 | 1,815 | 28 |
Non-compliance | 4,378 | 5,047 | 5,038 | 5,376 | 74 |
Failed to keep in touch | 1,960 | 2,140 | 2,110 | 2,286 | 32 |
Failed to reside | 1,613 | 1,792 | 1,810 | 1,920 | 27 |
Drugs/alcohol | 413 | 437 | 489 | 577 | 7 |
Poor Behaviour - Relationships | 205 | 214 | 212 | 224 | 3 |
HDC - Time violation | 124 | 131 | 171 | 151 | 2 |
HDC - Inability to monitor | 65 | 75 | 71 | 81 | 1 |
Failed home visit | 89 | 78 | 73 | 86 | 1 |
HDC - Failed installation | 37 | 29 | 30 | 51 | 1 |
HDC - Equipment Tamper | 9 | 2 | 15 | 11 | 0 |
Other | 1,091 | 1,299 | 1,304 | 1,296 | 19 |
* Figures for Jan-Mar 2023 have been revised since last publication.
The table includes instances of offenders recalled multiple times.
Recall reasons do not sum to the total number of recalls published, as more than one reason can be recorded against each recall.
We routinely publish recall data at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
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 4 March 2024 to Question 16199 on Alcoholic Drinks: Health, whether the post of (a) Head of Alcohol Policy and (b) Senior Policy Manager for Alcohol is (i) occupied and (ii) combined with other policy areas.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Health Improvement Directorate leads on public health policy to reduce alcohol-related health harm. Within the directorate, the Head of Alcohol and Gambling and the Head of Drug and Alcohol Treatment and Recovery, which have direct responsibility for aspects of alcohol policy, are occupied. There are several policy and programme leads working directly on different aspects of alcohol policy and programme delivery. There are two live vacancies in the alcohol and gambling policy and programme team, and we are recruiting staff to fill them.