About the toolkit

The AERC and Alcohol Concern recognise that the health effects of alcohol are not a statutory objective to be taken into account by local licensing authorities. However, the cost to the country in direct economic costs and indirect human costs should not be ignored. This toolkit helps to provide the links in the policy objectives expressed in the National Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy.

The toolkit was prepared by a team of consultants and greatly assisted by a team of advisers. The aim of this toolkit is not to advise how to formulate a local licensing policy or how to manage the new licensing regime. The purpose of the toolkit is to show the societal impact of alcohol misuse and how this effect can be monitored and measured. While listing available research and evidence in each area, the toolkit also provides examples of how it can be better managed and what the authorities can do to minimise the harm.

The effects of changes in the licensing practices will be different on different communities and the authorities will have to find the evidence by monitoring the data and consulting with the local community. The toolkit includes a section on how licensing authorities can monitor the impact of changes on the local communities by involving and consulting. Collecting and recording information is costly, therefore examples given in the toolkit refer to data collected by others or to data that are already available.

The toolkit uses research and good practice examples mostly from Britain. The National Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy is incorporated in the toolkit.

In addition to the practical advice, this site contains a summary of international research on how the licensing changes have affected communities in other countries.

Alcohol Concern Alcohol Concern is the national agency on alcohol misuse. We work to reduce the incidence and costs of alcohol related harm and to increase the range and quality of services available to people with alcohol-related problems www.alcoholconcern.org.uk

The Alcohol Education and Research Council The Council was established by the Government in 1982 by an Act of Parliament to administer the Alcohol Education and Research Fund. This Fund finances projects within the United Kingdom for education and research on alcohol related issues. www.aerc.org.uk

Principal Authors

Sara Burns Sara has worked in market research, national and international support agencies, and since 1989, she has been working in effective use of monitoring and evaluation. She runs training on monitoring and evaluation, including performance indicators, information gathering and the use of participatory evaluation techniques. Sara is well known for her work in developing outcome monitoring.

Libby Ranzetta Libby has worked in the substance misuse field since 1995. Her areas of expertise include service user involvement, particularly for young and difficult to reach people, services for black and minority ethnic communities, public health and European alcohol policy. As an Alcohol Concern consultant she co-authored the Megapoles report, researching young people and drinking in 10 European cities.

Mike Ward Mike has worked in the substance misuse/mental health field as manager and commissioner. His areas of interest include risk assessment and management, working with difficult to engage clients and dual diagnosis. As an Alcohol Concern lead consultant he has investigated alcohol-related crime and produced local strategies for crime reduction.

Lesley Williams Lesley is an environmental scientist and town planner who has been specialising in the design and facilitation of stakeholder involvement processes for the last 15 years.  She  works in a wide range of policy contexts including regeneration, crime reduction and urban planning.  She is an advisor on consultation issues to the Association of Police Authorities and ODPM, as well as many local authorities.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the many people who have given advice and made contributions to the construction of the toolkit. In particular we would like to thank: Eric Appleby, Gemma Cantelo, Patrick Crowley, Nigel Dermott, John Dixon, Steve Hellard, Geethika Jayatilaka, Roy Johnson, Jeffrey Leib, Stephan Leonard, Brain O’Connor, Dr Anna Richardson, Dali Sidebottom, Carole Sired and Dr Jonathan Smith.

We also would like to thank the Institute of Licensing, the Association of Directors of Social Services and the Local Authorities Co-ordinators of regulatory Services (LACORS) for their comments and contributions.