Alcohol inquiry call for evidence

• Health Committee

The terms of reference of the inquiry are as follows:

• The scale of ill-health related to alcohol misuse
• The consequences for the NHS
• Central government policy
• The role of the NHS and other bodies including local government, the voluntary sector, police, the alcohol industry, and those responsible for the advertising and promotion of alcohol
• Solutions, including whether the drinking culture in England should change, and if so, how.

Written evidence should if possible be in Word or rich text format (not PDF format) and sent by e-mail to:

• healthcommem@parliament.uk

The body of the e-mail must include a contact name, telephone number and postal address. The e-mail should also make clear if the submission is from an individual or on behalf of an organisation. The deadline is Thursday 12 March 2009.

Submissions should be in the format of a self-contained memorandum and should be no more than 3,000 words. Paragraphs should be numbered for ease of reference, and the document must include an executive summary.

• Further guidance on the submission of evidence

Submissions should be original work, not previously published or circulated elsewhere, though previously published work can be referred to in a submission and submitted as supplementary material. Once submitted, your submission becomes the property of the Committee and no public use should be made of it unless you have first obtained permission from the Clerk of the Committee. Please bear in mind that Committees are not able to investigate individual cases.

The Committee normally, though not always, chooses to publish the written evidence it receives, either by printing the evidence, publishing it on the internet or making it publicly available through the Parliamentary Archives. If there is any information you believe to be sensitive you should highlight it and explain what harm you believe would result from its disclosure; the Committee will take this into account in deciding whether to publish or further disclose the evidence.

For data protection purposes, it would be helpful if individuals wishing to submit written evidence send their contact details in a covering letter or e-mail. Evidence sessions will commence after Easter and details of these will appear on the Health Committee's website.

The Health Committee is a Select Committee of the House of Commons. It is appointed under Standing Order No.152 to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department of Health and associated public bodies. The Committee has the power to send for persons, papers and records.