Alcohol: policy context
Policy on alcohol problems is mainly devolved to the Scottish Parliament although some aspects are reserved to Westminster, such as alcohol advertising and taxation. Some reserved powers have been transferred; for instance the Scotland Act 2012 gave the Scottish Government the power to set drink driving blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limits. After consultation the Scottish Government announced in December 2014 a reduction in the BAC limit from 80 to 50mg/100ml blood.
The Licensing Act
The Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 makes provision for regulating the sale of alcohol, and for the premises in Scotland where alcohol is sold. It follows on from the Nicholson committee report, Review of Liquor Licensing Law in Scotland published in 2003.
The Licensing Act came into force on the 1st September 2009 and has five key objectives that Licensing Boards must consider when carrying out their responsibilities:
- Preventing crime and disorder
- Securing public safety
- Preventing public nuisance
- Protecting and improving public health
- Protecting children from harm.
A significant change from the previous Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976 (and the England and Wales 2003 Licensing Act), the 2005 Scottish Act places a direct obligation on local licensing boards to consider the protection and improvement of public health when granting or reviewing licences.
Other Acts that impact upon the licensing regime in Scotland include the Alcohol etc. (Scotland) Act 2010, Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010, Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012 and Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015.
Statutory guidance for the Licensing Act was updated in relation to occasional license use for premises affected by the COVID-19 pandemic – see Coronavirus (COVID-19): Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 section 142 - statutory guidance.
The Alcohol Framework 2018
The Scottish Government’s Alcohol Framework 2018: Preventing harm sets out alcohol-related prevention aims and activities. It sets out 20 actions, under three themes:
- Reducing consumption
- Positive attitudes, positive choices
- Supporting families and communities
The actions include consulting on restrictions on advertising to children and young people, evaluating the impact of minimum unit pricing, improving substance use education and increasing awareness, diagnosis and treatment of Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.
The 2018 framework is an update to the Scottish Government’s 2009 alcohol strategy, Changing Scotland’s Relationship with Alcohol: A Framework for Action. A number of the actions proposed in the 2009 Framework required legislative change and these were included in the Alcohol etc. (Scotland) Act 2010, which was implemented in October 2011. The Alcohol Act included, for example, a ban on multi-buy discounts in off-sales, restrictions on alcohol display and promotions, a requirement to notify NHS Boards of premises applications, and Chief Constable reports to be provided annually to Licensing Boards and Local Licensing Fora.
Minimum Unit Pricing
The Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act was passed by the Scottish Parliament in May 2012, and a minimum price of 50 pence per unit was introduced on 1 May 2018. The legislation contains a sunset clause, which means that it will expire by 30 April 2024 unless the Scottish Parliament votes for it to continue. Public Health Scotland are leading the evaluation of minimum unit pricing (MUP) in Scotland, which will help to inform this decision. The Scottish Government have committed to reviewing the price at which MUP is set. More information on minimum unit pricing in Scotland can be found on the Scottish Government minimum unit pricing webpage.
Rights, Respect and Recovery
In November 2018, the Scottish Government published Rights, Respect and Recovery: alcohol and drug treatment strategy. This sits alongside the Alcohol Framework, and sets the strategy for preventing and reducing drug and alcohol use, harm and deaths. Its four areas of focus are:
- Prevention and early intervention
- Developing recovery oriented systems of care
- Getting it right for children, young people, and families
- Public health approach to justice
The accompanying action plan describes planned actions up to 2021, including involving those with lived experience in the development of programmes, and improving access to treatment and recovery services.
Alcohol services
Interventions for alcohol problems range from delivering brief advice on cutting down alcohol consumption through to complex care for those with alcohol-related brain damage and other serious conditions. These interventions can be delivered in a variety of settings, both within and out with the health service, including the voluntary sector. Interventions are also delivered by a range of providers, both generalist and specialist.
Thirty one Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs) have been established, responsible for developing local strategies and commissioning services that meet the needs of local people. ADPs were set up in collaboration with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) and the Scottish Government. They are anchored in Community Planning partnerships and bring together local partners, including health boards, local authorities, police and voluntary agencies. The Partnership Delivery Framework sets out the partnership working arrangements for ADPs.
The Scottish Government have detailed specific support for drug and alcohol services during the COVID-19 pandemic on their web pages.
More policy information
More information on Government strategy relating to alcohol can be found on the Scottish Government website, or on the Alcohol section of the Public Health Scotland website. The first Monitoring and Evaluating Scotland’s Alcohol Strategy (MESAS) report includes a useful summary of Scotland’s alcohol policy in chapter 3 of the report. Any alcohol-related parliamentary questions, debates and committee reports from the Scottish Parliament can be found via the Parliamentary Business section on the Scottish Parliament website.
