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Alcohol: preventing harmful use in the community

Quality standard [QS83] Published: 25 March 2015

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Overview

Quality statements
Quality statement 1: Using local crime and related trauma data
Quality statement 2: Under-age sales
Quality statement 3: Alcohol education
Quality statement 4: Schools and colleges involve parents, carers, children and young people
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Quality standard

Quality statement 1: Using local crime and related trauma data

Quality statement
Rationale
Quality measures
What the quality statement means for different audiences
Source guidance
Definitions of terms used in this quality statement

Quality statement 1: Using local crime and related trauma data

Quality statement

Local authorities use local crime and related trauma data to map the extent of alcohol‑related problems, to inform the development or review of a statement of licensing policy.

Rationale

Using local data to identify problems caused by the sale of alcohol in an area enables the development of an evidence‑based, high‑quality policy on responsible licensing that will help to meet the licensing objectives.

Quality measures

The following measures can be used to assess the quality of care or service provision specified in the statement. They are examples of how the statement can be measured, and can be adapted and used flexibly.

Structure

Evidence that local crime and related trauma data are used to map the extent of alcohol‑related problems to inform the development or review of a statement of licensing policy.

Data source: Local data collection.

What the quality statement means for different audiences

Local authorities (through the licensing lead, public health team and trading standards) work in partnership with local health and crime agencies and other responsible authorities to ensure that there are arrangements for sharing local crime and related trauma data. These data should be used to map the extent of alcohol‑related problems in an area, to inform the development or review of a statement of licensing policy.

People in the community can be confident that information about crime and other alcohol‑related problems is taken into account by local authorities when they make decisions about licensing for alcohol. This should help to make areas safer and reduce problems related to alcohol, such as crime, health problems and accidents.

Source guidance

Alcohol-use disorders: prevention. NICE guideline PH24 (2010), recommendation 4

Definitions of terms used in this quality statement

Local crime and related trauma data

Data such as non‑personal details from hospital emergency departments about violent incidents (time, day, date, location, type of assault and whether weapons were used), ambulance data and crime data that can be mapped alongside locations of licensed premises. [Adapted from the Home Office alcohol strategy, section 3.22 and expert opinion]

Alcohol-related problems

Problems resulting from alcohol that may be indicated (perhaps by proxy) by local crime and related trauma data, such as crime and disorder, social issues and health harms. These include drunkenness and rowdy behaviour, assault, accidents and injuries, absence from work, financial costs, children growing up in families in which there is parental alcohol misuse, chronic health problems (mental and physical) and, in extreme circumstances, death. [Expert opinion]

Development or review of a statement of licensing policy

Every licensing authority is required to develop and publish a statement of its licensing policy and review it at least every 5 years. The statement of licensing policy explains the approach to licensing within the area and gives guidance to licence holders, applicants and any person who may have an interest in licence applications or review of licences. The statement of licensing policy might include a 'cumulative impact' policy. Cumulative impact policies allow licensing authorities to take into account whether a significant number of licensed premises are concentrated in 1 area and whether the evidence suggests that the licensing of more premises may affect the statutory licensing objectives and contribute to an increase in alcohol‑related disorder. Individual licence applications can be refused unless the applicant can demonstrate in their operating schedule that there will be no negative cumulative impact on 1 or more of the licensing objectives. Currently (March 2015) the 4 statutory licensing objectives are: the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, the prevention of public nuisance and the protection of children from harm. [Adapted from NICE's guideline on alcohol-use disorders: prevention and the Home Office's revised guidance issued under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003]