WIREDGOV

Councils need greater powers to limit the opening of late-night premises in areas where there are particular concerns about the impact of alcohol on public health.

A new survey by the Local Government Association (LGA) reveals nearly 90 per cent of council health chiefs want a public health objective included in a revamped Licensing Act to help curb the saturation of communities with pubs, clubs and off-licences selling alcohol.

Under current rules, local councils can only listen to - but not act on - expert health-related evidence when considering licensing applications. This leaves them powerless to use public health grounds to veto new premises wishing to sell alcohol.

Latest figures show alcohol-related hospital admissions in England have more than doubled over 10 years – to more than a million – with excessive alcohol consumption estimated to cost the NHS around £3.5 billion per year. In 2014, there were 8,697 alcohol-related deaths registered in the UK.

Councils are responsible for running local alcohol prevention schemes but are seeing public health budgets cut by £331 million over the next five years.

The LGA said the public health funding issues makes it even more important for government to ensure local authorities have the same powers as those in Scotland which have been able to consider all health implications - such as hospital admissions and local addiction levels - in relation to licensing applications since 2005. Councils are also calling for greater access to NHS and crime data to help create ‘alcohol harm' maps.

A public health criteria within the Licensing Act would give councils greater power to protect local communities from the spread of alcohol outlets and irresponsible promotions, make greater use of indicators of long-term health harm and reduce NHS costs.

Cllr Tony Page, Licensing spokesman on the LGA's Safer and Stronger Communities Board, said:

"Obviously councils are not seeking powers to refuse every application - the social benefits of moderate drinking are well documented - but it would certainly allow them to take a more balanced view in line with their other priorities such as creating vibrant and safe town centres and protecting people from harm.

"Councils can listen to health evidence, but are powerless to refuse, new licences on public health grounds. Then after granting permission, they will have less money to spend on prevention schemes such as tackling alcohol misuse.

"Alcohol is a significant public health issue in many areas and having new licensing powers to protect and improve public health would allow councils to fully take into account the social and health impacts on their local communities as well as help reduce NHS costs."

Cllr Izzi Seccombe, LGA Community Wellbeing spokesperson, said:

"Councils want to help people live healthier lives and tackle the harm caused by excessive drinking.

"The widespread availability of alcohol is not helping the 1.6 million adults in England who have an alcohol addiction and the associated treatment costs picked up by local authorities.

"Adding a public health objective to the Licensing Act will give councils power to refuse licence applications due to long-term health impacts, such as liver disease, and save money from the public purse."

The LGA survey revealed that nine out of 10 Directors of Public Health said adding a public health objective to the Licensing Act would help them do their jobs more effectively. It also emphasised how councils need greater access to NHS data, including hospital admissions and ambulance call-out details.

Being able to use population health outcome data would influence the geographic distribution of licences, while accessing local health, safeguarding and crime data to develop ‘alcohol harm maps' would also help limit licensing applications under a public health objective.

The availability of such information would also help businesses better understand where there might be areas of concern and to target their applications more appropriately.

Notes

The Licensing Act 2003 gives councils the ability to assess the suitability of premises wishing to sell alcohol in their local area.

Current objections to licensing applications can only be considered on four criteria: the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, the prevention of public nuisance, and the protection of children from harm.

The LGA is urging public health to be added as a fifth objective so councils can use health-related evidence – such as hospital admissions and local addiction levels - when ruling on licences.

The Local Government Association's Research and Information team conducted an online survey of all 130 Directors of Public Health in England. Fieldwork took place between 4 December 2015 and 18 January 2016 and yielded a response rate of 62 per cent (80 Directors). Nine out of ten (89 per cent) Directors said there was a demand within their councils to have a public health objective within the Licensing Act. Eighty-nine per cent of Directors also said the ability of to deliver effective public health would be improved ‘to a great extent' or ‘to a moderate extent' by the introduction of public health licensing objective.

According to the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) there were 1,059,210 hospital admissions in England attributable to alcohol consumption in 2013-14 – a rise of 115 per cent in the past 10 years. Excessive alcohol consumption is estimated to cost the NHS around £3.5 billion per year and around seven in 10 A&E admissions between midnight and 5am at weekends are thought to be linked to alcohol. HSCIC estimates that about 1.6 million adults in England are dependent on alcohol.

According to the Office of National Statistics, there were 8,697 alcohol-related deaths registered in the UK in 2014.