DEPARTMENT FOR
CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES News Release (2008/0104) issued by
The Government News Network on 2 June 2008
A comprehensive
plan to stop young people drinking in public; help them make the
right decisions about alcohol; and provide clear information to
parents and young people about the risks of early drinking was
announced today by Ed Balls, Jacqui Smith and Alan Johnson in the
Government's Youth Alcohol Action Plan.
The Action Plan sets out what the Government will do to address
drinking by young people in three main ways:
* Working with police and the courts to stop it, making it clear
that unsupervised drinking by young people under-18 in public
places is unacceptable;
* Recognising that drinking by young people in the home is
clearly the responsibility of parents and families, but providing
clearer health information for parents and young people about how
consumption of alcohol can affect children and young people. The
Action Plan announces that the Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam
Donaldson will produce clear guidelines for families;
* Working with the alcohol industry to continue the good progress
made to reduce the sale of alcohol to under-18s but also in
marketing and promoting alcohol in a more responsible way.
While the proportion of young people who drink regularly has
fallen, the consumption of alcohol by those who do drink has risen
sharply. And the ways in which young people are drinking have
changed. The Youth Alcohol Action Plan promises a powerful package
of action to tackle this:
* New laws to stop young people drinking in public places,
including a new offence to tackle persistent possession of alcohol;
* New authoritative guidelines from the Chief Medical Officer
about young people, alcohol and health;
* Establishing a new partnership with parents by providing them
with clear information they need to guide their children towards
low risk drinking; and
* Supporting and encouraging young people themselves through
publicity campaigns and education in schools to make the right
decisions about alcohol.
There is a rising trend.of young people drinking unsupervised in
public places. This puts them and their communities at greater
risk, so tough new measures will be introduced to give thepolice
powers to tackle young people who harm themselves and their
communities by persistently drinking unsupervised in public
places. This includes the use of Acceptable Behaviour Contracts
and Parenting Orders. To address the most serious and persistent
cases of public drinking by young people, we will put in place
tough new measures to address this, including legislating to make
it an offence for under-18s to persistently possess alcohol in
public places.
The Government wants to give parents and young people the
information they need to make informed choices. The Chief Medical
Officer will develop a new set of 'guidelines' on young
people and alcohol. He will work with experts, parents and young
people themselves to consider the age at which children and young
people can start to drink alcohol, how much it is sensible for
young people to drink; and how far young people's drinking of
alcohol should be supervised by parents.
Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, said:
"Tougher enforcement powers are needed to tackle under-age
binge drinking but enforcement measures alone are not the
solution. We need a culture change about drinking with everyone
from parents, the alcohol industry and young people all taking
more responsibility.
"We need to fundamentally influence young people's
behaviour and attitudes towards alcohol. This will involve talking
to young people themselves but, crucially, parents tell us they
want better, clearer information as they bring up their children."
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said:
"If you can't buy alcohol you shouldn't be able to
drink it in public either. Underage drinking erodes the safety and
well being of communities as well as damaging young people's
health. It's not right and I am determined to put a stop to it.
"Alongside new measures to help police to take action
against one-off offenders and put them back on the right track, I
will introduce brand new legislation which is designed to tackle
under-18s who won't change their ways. All of us, Government,
the police, alcohol retailers, community workers and parents -
particularly parents - have a responsibility to face this
challenge head on. Now we have the powers in place, it's time
to use them to their full effect."
Secretary of State for Health, Alan Johnson, said:
"Young people drink, we know that. And instead of turning a
blind eye or preaching at them, we must equip them and their
parents with the information they need to stay healthy.
"Excess drinking caused an increasing number of people to be
admitted to hospital last year. We want to ensure that the young
people of today do not become patients of tomorrow because they
have drunk too much alcohol."
Sir Liam Donaldson, the Chief Medical Officer, said:
"Fewer young people now drink, but those who do are drinking
more - and they are probably unaware of the damage they are doing
to their health. So it's essential that young people and
their parents have clear, medical guidance.
"I will be working with an expert panel, as well as with
parents and children, to develop clear information for children,
and their parents, about the effects of alcohol."
Anne Longfield OBE, Chief Executive of 4Children said:
"We welcome the Youth Alcohol Action Plan which is an
important first step in tackling growing concerns around the level
of young people's drinking and the negative impact this can
have on their health, well being and the communities in which they
live. It is particularly encouraging to see an emphasis being
placed on helping parents to discuss drinking alcohol with their
children as many may feel uncomfortable and unsure of how to
engage their children in talking about the issue.
"Providing young people with the information and guidance
they need to make responsible decisions about drinking alcohol is
vital, particularly given the peer pressure that many face.
Working with young people and their families in this way will be
an important part of the journey towards reversing the health and
social problems which have resulted from our prevalent drinking culture."
Don Shenker, Chief Executive of Alcohol Concern, said:
"Alcohol Concern has consistently campaigned for the
government to take stronger action to reduce the considerable
levels of teenage alcohol misuse and its associated harms.
We're therefore delighted to support the launch of this new
action plan which promises a series of improved interventions.
Given the widespread ease with which young people obtain and
misuse alcohol, the scale of the challenge is considerable.
However the plan represents an excellent start. Parents play a
critical role in raising sensible drinkers and they should benefit
from the clearer advice on how to raise these issues with their
children that is promised under these proposals. Furthermore, it
is right that we spotlight the role that improved industry
standards could play in driving positive change."
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. Young people's relationship with alcohol has changed over
recent years:
* the proportion of 11-15 year olds who drink regularly is
falling - from 28 per cent in 2001 to 21 per cent in 2006;
* at the same time the average weekly consumption among young
people who do drink has increased, doubling the number of units
consumed by young people in that age group between 1999 and 2000;
* one recent study found 47 per cent of 15-year-old girls had
been drunk at least once in the past four weeks compared to 37 per
cent of boys;
* latest evidence on drinking by 11-15-year-olds suggests 35 per
cent of those who had drunk alcohol in the previous four weeks had
done so deliberately to get drunk;
* 56 per cent of 15-16-year-olds report having drunk heavily in
the last 30 days and 30 per cent report having done this three or
more times in the past 30 days;
* there is a trend towards increased unsupervised drinking by
young people in open-air public places - the proportion of 11-15
year olds who drink on the street, in a park or somewhere else
outside has increased from 21 per cent in 1999 to 31 per cent in 2006;
* over half the people who said they had witnessed drunken or
rowdy behaviour claimed it was due to young people drinking in
public places;
* alcohol is increasingly obtained from the home - of the
11-15-year-olds who drank 14 or more units in the previous week 48
per cent claim to have been given alcohol directly by their
parents whilst 42 per cent claim to have taken it without their
parents consent;
* evidence suggests that the effects of young people's
alcohol consumption can be severe - both to their own short- and
long-term health, but also to society more widely;
* in particular, alcohol consumption is a key factor associated
with young people committing offences as well as absence from
school and the use of illicit drugs.
2. The Youth Alcohol Action Plan (YAAP) is jointly published by
the Department for Children, Schools and Families, the Home Office
and the Department of Health. It builds on last year's
updated alcohol strategy, Safe. Sensible. Social.
3. The YAAP sets out a number of measures to deliver its
objective of tackling young people's alcohol consumption,
these include:
Stopping young people drinking in public places
* Give police the powers to disperse under-18s who are drinking
and behaving anti-socially from any location
* Extend the Directions to Leave power to include 10-15 year olds
* Extend alcohol arrest-referral pilots so that under-18s
arrested for alcohol-related offences benefit from a brief
intervention with a trained worker
* Implement new legislation to make it an offence for under-18s
to persistently possess alcohol in public places
Taking action with industry
* Encourage voluntary test purchasing schemes
* Encourage the wider use of Proof of Age Schemes
* Encourage the prompt rollout of Challenge 21 nationally
* Working with industry to improve the Alcohol Social
Responsibility Standards, with a view to making them mandatory
Developing a national consensus on young people and drinking
* Conduct extensive consultation on the advice of the Chief
Medical Officer and the DCSF Expert Panel
* Issue guidelines on young people and alcohol
* Establishing a new partnership with parents
* Issuing guidance to parents regarding young people and alcohol
* Extending Family Intervention Projects to include a focus on
substance misuse
* Encourage the police and other agencies to make greater use of
Parenting Orders when a child or young person is caught
persistently drinking in public places
Supporting young people to make sensible decisions
* Launch a communications campaign about the risks of alcohol -
particularly aimed at 11-15 year olds
* Implement the actions arising from the review of drug and
alcohol education in schools
4. The Government's Drug Strategy was published in February
of this year. There are clear links between the YAAP and the
drugs strategy namely, the priority of providing whole family
interventions for families affected by any form of substance
misuse, including alcohol, to prevent future problems for children.
5. DCSF is investing in targeted interventions for families at
risk, which will reduce, over the long term, the number of young
people at increased risk of misusing alcohol, as well as other
poor outcomes through promoting positive parenting and supporting
families to positively influence their children. These
initiatives include intensive support services to reach the most
chaotic families through the Family Interventions Projects and
Family Pathfinders to develop local systems and services that
improve outcomes for families at risk.
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