Agenda item

To consider the motion.

Cabinet considered the following motion which had been moved by Councillor S Corcoran and seconded by Councillor D Flude at the Council meeting on 27^th July 2017 and referred to Cabinet for consideration:

“This Council notes that:

§  alcohol can be enjoyed in a responsible way by adults;

§  alcohol can cause serious and fatal diseases, including several types of cancers;

§  the UK Chief Medical Officers’ Alcohol Guidelines advise both men and women that it is safest not to drink regularly more than 14 units per week;

§  alcohol can only be legally purchased by adults over 18 years old;

§  advertising of alcohol is designed to make products more appealing and in turn can appeal to children and young people;

§  there is strong evidence of public support for a 9pm watershed for alcohol advertising on TV (the recent Healthier Futures/Alcohol Health Alliance public opinion survey found 73% support in Greater Manchester for a 9pm watershed for alcohol adverts on TV and the recent public engagement campaign ‘See What Sam Sees’ by Healthier Futures, talked with over 200 people across Greater Manchester and received overwhelming support for a 9pm watershed from the Greater Manchester public);

§  in January 2012 the Health & Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee considered a report on alcohol and noted that Cheshire East Council had recently signed up to the NHS North West “Pledge to young people” to reduce the harm caused to children and young people by alcohol.

This Council acknowledges its share of responsibility to try to ensure good public health in the population and resolves to

Request the Leader of the Council to write the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport expressing these views and asking her to bring forward legislation to introduce a 9pm watershed for the advertising of alcohol products on TV to protect children and young people from the influence of alcohol advertising.”

Councillors Corcoran and Flude attended the meeting and spoke in support of the motion.

Whilst Cabinet felt that the motion was to be supported it covered only one aspect of the ongoing challenge of reducing levels of alcohol consumption. Consequently there was an opportunity to re-emphasise the Council’s support for the Cheshire and Merseyside Local Authorities’ lobbying for the introduction of Minimum Unit Pricing and the reducing alcohol harm element of the early Intervention and Prevention work-stream of the Cheshire and Merseyside Sustainability and Transformation Partnership. 

RESOLVED

That Cabinet supports the motion stated above but in addition notes and supports:

(a)  That the Alcohol Harm Reduction Plan recently adopted by the Health and Wellbeing Board (of which the Council is a key partner) includes a focus on children and young  people and reducing their levels of alcohol consumption.  Exposure to marketing and accessibility of alcohol are two key factors that influence the drinking behaviours of young people.

(b)  That the Council remains committed to supporting calls for a minimum unit price for alcohol to be introduced and will work with other Councils in Cheshire and Merseyside to lobby Government in relation to this.

(c)  That the Council endorses the work-stream to reduce alcohol consumption through a range of early intervention and prevention activity across the health and care system, that forms part of the Cheshire and Merseyside Sustainability and Transformation Partnership’s priorities.