TAX TALK
THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION
(LGA)
is calling on the government to extend tax
breaks on beer to lower-strength ciders, wines
and spirits. This would encourage the industry
to widen the availability of low-strength drinks
and help combat the annual £3.5bn cost of
dealing with alcohol-related ill health, it says.
‘The drinks industry and several retailers have
gone some way to make and sell lower
strength drinks but we want them to go much
further,’ said LGA spokesperson Tony Page.
SPENDING POWER
HIV-RELATED DEATHS
and new HIV
infections among people who use drugs
could be almost entirely eliminated by 2030
with ‘just a tiny shift in global drug control
spending’, according to a report from Harm
Reduction International. Redirecting 7.5 per
cent of the US $100bn spent on drug
enforcement and control to harm reduction
measures would cut deaths by 93 per cent,
says
The case for a harm reduction decade:
progress, potential and paradigm shifts.
Document at
LOW-PRICED LIMITS
THE REVISED WEEKLY LIMIT OF ALCOHOL
UNITS
can be bought for as little as £2,
according to a report from Alcohol Concern
Cymru. A ‘snapshot’ survey of supermarkets
and off-licences in six towns and cities across
Wales found alcohol on sale for as little as
15.5p per unit. ‘Typically, it’s heavy drinkers
who favour low-price alcohol, meaning that it
is the cheapest alcohol on the market that is
bought and consumed in the greatest
quantities and which causes the greatest
harm,’ said spokesperson Mark Leyshon.
WELSH ON THE DEAL
A PROPOSED BAN ON THE USE OF E-
CIGARETTES
in public places in Wales (
DDN
,
May 2014, page 4) has been defeated by a
single vote. Although Plaid Cymru had
originally planned to allow its assembly
members a free vote on the public health bill
of which the proposals were part, it ultimately
voted against, meaning the bill failed to pass.
COLLECTIVE ACTION
COLLECTIVE VOICE
has become an associate of
the Making Every Adult Matter (MEAM)
coalition, which works to improve policy and
services for people with multiple needs. ‘The
majority of individuals using substance misuse
services have a wide range of other needs,’
said Collective Voice chair Karen Biggs. ‘To
support them we need to influence policy and
services across different sectors, and MEAM
will provide excellent links across criminal
justice, homelessness and mental health.’
ONE YOU
A NEW NATIONAL CAMPAIGN
to help address
preventable illnesses caused by lifestyle
factors such as drinking or smoking has been
launched by PHE.
One You
aims to encourage
adults to ‘take control’ of their health to avoid
problems in later life.
April 2016 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| 5
SERVICES CONTINUE
TO FEEL CUTS PAIN
NEARLY 60 PER CENT OF RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT SERVICES
have
reported a decrease in funding to the Recovery Partnership’s latest
State of the sector
report, along
with nearly 40 per cent of
community services. Just ten and
eleven per cent respectively
reported an increase, the
document states.
Produced by Adfam, the report
is based on an online survey and
telephone interviews carried out in
the last quarter of 2015, with more
than a quarter of all services
reporting an increase of ten per
cent or more in the number of
clients accessing them.
Meanwhile, 44 per cent had been
through either tendering or
contract re-negotiation in the
previous year, and half expected to
do so in the year ahead.
A fifth of respondents felt that
access to mental health services
and/or housing support had
worsened, suggesting that ‘better
joined-up support for people with
dual diagnosis and multiple and
complex needs’ was necessary, the
report states. Just under 70 per
cent reported actively recruiting
ex-service users as paid
employees, while almost all said
they recruited them as volunteers.
More than half also felt that
funding changes had had a
negative effect on both workers’
caseloads and workforce
development, and more than 40 per cent said there had been a
negative impact on core services. However, ‘passion, innovation and
resilience’ remained evident despite the challenges, the report
stresses. The report revealed a system ‘struggling to support some of
our most vulnerable citizens’, said Adfam chief executive Vivienne
Evans. ‘It provides vital intelligence on how services are coping, or not
coping, and contains worrying findings on the impacts of funding
changes to the delivery of core services. As ever, highly committed
staff and innovative practice were also uncovered.’
State of the sector 2015 at
BUSINESSWINS
NON-EXPERT IN-HOUSE LEGAL ADVICE
and fear of expensive appeals mean many
local authorities are failing to use
licensing ‘to its full potential’, according
to a report from the Institute of Alcohol
Studies. The 2003 Licensing Act is
‘commonly interpreted to the advantage
of the licensed trade’, says
The Licensing
Act (2003): its uses and abuses 10 years
on
, with any health concerns addressed
likely to be those related to street
drinking or domestic violence. ‘Local
councils could help themselves more by
paying closer attention to the act and case
law in order use licensing more
assertively, but there is also a need for the
government to better support councils
against challenges from the licensed
trade,’ said lead author Jon Foster.
Report at
‘local councils could
help themselves
more by paying closer
attention to the act
and case law.’
Jon FoSteR
Report reveals a
system ‘struggling to
support some of our
most vulnerable
citizens. it provides
vital intelligence on
how services are
coping, or not coping,
and contains worrying
findings on the
impacts of funding
changes to the
delivery of core
services.
vivienne evanS
BUDGET BLUES
THE CHANCELLOR’S DECISION
to freeze
duty rates on beer, cider and spirits as
part of his controversial budget last
month has been criticised by alcohol
health bodies. The budget did ‘nothing
to protect young people from the
devastating harms of the cheapest,
strongest alcohol’ said campaign
group Balance North East.
