Last year an All Party Parliamentary Group on Alcohol Misuse (APPG) was released urging political partied to adopt 10 key alcohol policies ahead of the 2015 election.
The recommendations were as follows:
1. Make reducing alcohol harms the responsibility of a single government minister with clear accountability
2. Introduce a minimum unit price for alcoholic drinks
3. Introduce public health as a fifth licensing objective, enabling local authorities to make licensing decisions based on local population health need and the density of existing outlets
4. Strengthen regulation of alcohol marketing to protect children and young people
5. Increase funding for treatment and raise access levels from 6% to 15% of problem drinkers
6. Commissioners should prioritise the delivery of Identification and Brief Advice. Identification and Brief Advice should be delivered in a wide range of different settings including health care, involving GPs routinely asking questions, and in-workplace programmes
7. Include a health warning on all alcohol labels and deliver a government-funded national public awareness campaign on alcohol-related health issues
8. For all social workers, midwives and healthcare professionals, introduce mandatory training on parental substance misuse, foetal alcohol syndrome disorder and alcohol-related domestic violence
9. Reduce the blood alcohol limit for driving in England and Wales to 50mg/100ml, starting with drivers under the age of 21
10. Introduce the widespread use of sobriety orders to break the cycle of alcohol and crime, antisocial behaviour and domestic violence
Find out what the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Green Party have to say about alcohol in their 2015 manifestos at: http://www.alcoholpolicy.net/2015/04/main-party-manifestos-quiet-on-alcohol-policy-and-minimum-pricing-.html
