Lords committee looks at impact of licensing laws on health
The House of Lords Licensing Act 2003 Committee will next week explore the impact that relaxed licensing laws are having on the public health.
On Tuesday 25 October experts in the areas of public health and medicine will give evidence to the Committee, which is examining the effectiveness of the Licensing Act 2003, and the impact that changing licensing restrictions have had on public life.
At 10:40am the Committee will hear from Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, Chair, Alcohol Health Alliance, Dr Adrian Boyle, Royal College of Emergency Medicine, Jeanelle de Gruchy (Director of Public Health, Haringey Council), for the Association of Directors of Public Health, and Professor Colin Drummond, Chair of the Faculty of Addictions Psychiatry, at the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
The witnesses will be asked a variety of questions, which could include:
- How should the freedom to drink alcohol be reconciled with the promotion of health and wellbeing?
- Scotland has decided to add public health to the objectives of its licensing laws – should England and Wales? If so, how?
- Should access to alcohol be further restricted in the interest of promoting public health?
- What can official data tell us about the relationship between licensing and public health?
- What are the merits of limiting access to types of alcohol, such as super strength, instead of where it can be bought?
- What are your views of taxation and price controls?
- How do the health risks differ from ‘on' and ‘off' sales?
The evidence sessions will start at 10.40am next Tuesday 25 October in Committee Room 3A.
