Alcohol price control 'needed in NW'

5 June 2013 Last updated at 15:49 GMT Dr Arif Rajpura said "pocket-money" prices mean more people are drinking to harmful levels The north-west of England needs its own minimum-price on alcohol, Blackpool's director of public health has said.

Dr Arif Rajpura wants all the area's councils to join together to order a lowest price of 50p-per-unit, in a bid to reduce consumption.

He said "pocket-money" prices mean more people are drinking to harmful levels.

In 2010-11, the cost of alcohol-related issues to the north-west economy was more than £3bn, according to public health body Drink Wise.

Dr Rajpura said a price increase would not affect moderate drinkers, but it would affect hard drinkers and those who are drinking cheap alcohol from supermarkets and off licences before going out into the town.

'No-brainer'

"Consumption has increased as the price has fallen," he said.

"Alcohol has got cheaper and cheaper over the last two decades, so young people can purchase alcohol at pocket-money prices.

"It's one of the biggest issues for us in Blackpool, it contributes to many young deaths and that has a significant effect on our overall life expectancy, so for me it's an absolute no-brainer."

Dave Daly, manager of the Castle pub on Central Drive in Blackpool, said the plan would not curb drinking.

He said "Blackpool is a working man's resort and it always has been and always will be.

"The main stay of Blackpool is the river of alcohol that runs through it and keeps it alive."

Drink Wise said there are about 200,000 hospital admissions a year in the North West related to alcohol, 30,000 of them in Blackpool.

Blackpool Council is starting a public consultation, which could see the resort's pubs and clubs being forced to close at 03:00 BST at the latest.

Some are currently open until 05:00 BST.

Miles Beale, chief executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, said: "Whilst we recognise the need to tackle problem drinking in the North West, we understand that setting a minimum unit price at a local level is likely to be illegal.

"Locally-tailored solutions such as Community Alcohol Partnerships, alongside better enforcement of existing legislation and more and better education about alcohol, are far more effective than pushing up the price of alcohol for the majority of responsible consumers."

View the original article here

Money 'needed to make care cap work'

8 May 2013 Last updated at 12:50 GMT By Nick Triggle Health correspondent, BBC News Social-care budgets have already been squeezed in the past few years The government's commitment to reform social care will require greater investment, ministers have been told.

A bill limiting the cost to disabled and elderly people of their social care will form part of the government's legislative programme for the next year, the Queen's Speech revealed.

Previously ministers had proposed introducing a cap of £72,000 in 2016.

But campaigners and council chiefs told ministers budget cuts were already putting the system at risk.

Research by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) suggests the £16bn budget for social care, including services for both elderly and disabled people, is likely to be trimmed by £800m in the next 12 months.

It comes after nearly £2bn has already been cut from them in the past two years - despite the prospect of an extra 450,000 people needing state help following the introduction of a cap.

'Bleak'

ADASS president Sandie Keene said: "Gazing into the next two years, without additional investment from that already planned, an already bleak outlook becomes even bleaker."

Michelle Mitchell, of Age UK, added: "The legislation announced has the potential to transform our crumbling, unfair social-care system for current and future generations of older people.

"But to have any chance in succeeding we need to see the legislation twinned with a commitment in the spending review for increased spending on social care."

Currently anyone with assets of more than £23,250 faces unlimited costs.

But under the proposed changes, the state will pick up the bill as soon as an individual's costs hit £72,000.

The cap has been designed to protect people against the catastrophic costs that push some into selling their homes.

One in 10 people face costs above £100,000 for old-age care.

As well as paving the way for a cap, the legislation will also change the law regarding social care.

A report in 2011 by the Law Commission said current laws were "outdated and flawed".

There are currently more than 40 different laws that affect social care, but the government is seeking to replace them with a single piece of legislation so people can be clear about their rights.

For example, people with conditions that vary over time, such as bi-polar disorder or dementia, can currently, in theory, be excluded from care because of the contradictory way regulations are written.

View the original article here