The Southern Co-operative takes seriously its responsibility regarding the sale of alcohol

Over the weekend I blogged and tweeted about an application by the Co-op to sell alcohol from 6am and called for greater responsibility of supermarkets when it comes to the sale of alcohol.  I have since realised that I have done the Southern Co-operative a disservice.  It currently runs two stores in the Brighton area, one is on Western Road and the other is on the Sussex University campus.  However both trade under the national brand. The Southern Co-operative has a policy of not retailing alcohol before 8.00am and I have been assured by them that they are not reviewing this policy.

The other Co-operative stores in Brighton and Hove are owned and run by the Co-operative Group based in Manchester, and it is this Group that has made the application for 6am licences.

As an independent co-operative trading in the south of England, the Southern Co-operative is very much aware of the issues regarding alcohol and has worked very closely with local councillor Ollie Sykes and the residents near the store to ensure that they were aware of their position with regard to selling alcohol.

The Southern Co-operative has a zero tolerance to abuse. They do not put posters advertising alcohol in the window and at the residents’ requests removed one of the window designs that showed a glass of wine being poured. Residents were asked what they would like to see and after consultation, a local competition was held that resulted in a local artist’s design appearing in the store window that depicts the Brunswick area.

Local managers work with local groups and the manager in the Western Road store is in contact with the Brighton and Hove Crime Reduction Partnership and regularly attends local meetings.  It is also working with the Hanover Centre on their energy saving project at the community centre and with the Brighton Peace and Energy Centre on carbon footprint surveys and special energy saving courses.

So my apologies for not differentiating between the two Co-ops locally.  I have learned something.  I hope in the near future to be able to write a further post welcoming a decision by the Co-operative Group not to proceed with its applications, and to highlight a new responsible approach to the marketing and sale of alcohol from them!

Please sign the petition for the introduction of a minimum unit price for alcohol

For several months there has been high hopes that the government would introduce a minimum price per unit of alcohol. The Prime Minister is on record as saying he supports the introduction of a Minimum Unit Price (MUP). However, just before the budget, in the face of some powerful lobbying, the government pulled back from announcing a MUP. We were told that the matter would be addressed through the budget. It was, with a 1p reduction on duty for a pint of beer.

A petition has now be launched on the government’s website. The petition reads:

“We urge the Government to introduce a minimum unit price for alcohol and show the courage to tackle the devastation to families caused by alcoholism and the billions spent by the NHS every year treating disease caused by alcohol misuse.

“Recent major health reports show that Britain faces an enormous burden from alcohol. With death rates from liver disease rising by 65% over the past 20 years, the Government cannot afford to do nothing.

“The Government made a clear commitment to introduce a MUP for alcohol in its alcohol strategy published in March 2012. We urge the Government not to backtrack, and to put health and lives first by introducing MUP.”

Please sign the petition by clicking this link which will take you to the government website

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/47073

Supermarkets, including the Co-op, must show more responsibility when selling alcohol

Following news that the Co-op is seeking permission to sell alcohol from 6am in various stores in Brighton and Hove, I have called for supermarkets to take a more responsible approach to the sale of alcohol.

While alcohol has an important part to play in the night time economy of Brighton and Hove, we have a major problem with alcohol in the City.

Alcohol abuse in Brighton and Hove is reported to cost taxpayers more than £100 million each year. The City’s Director of Public Health, Tom Scanlon, reports that two people die each week in the city due to alcohol, 66 attend hospital per week, and each day a young person under the age of 18 is admitted to A&E. City youngsters are twice as likely to have been drunk nearly once a week than their counterparts nationally. Alcohol specific stays in hospital are at a much higher rate in Brighton and Hove compared to the rest of England.

News that the Co-op is seeking permission to sell alcohol from 6am is shocking. Such sales cannot be important to the night time economy, and can only be needed to supply alcohol to those with serious problems.

It highlights the need for responsibility by our largest supermarkets. It is all well and good for the Co-op to boast about its ethical policies, but its alcohol retail practices fall well short of acceptable standards. It currently has deals for cheap alcohol on its website. In fact almost a third of its special deals are for cheap alcohol, a further third relate to chocolates for Easter.

It is not just the Co-op. Increasingly supermarkets are placing alcohol in chiller cabinets, at checkouts, and throughout their stores. I am aware that complaints have been made by customers at the London Road Co-op about their decision to site alcohol in the main body of the shop close to food, sweets and even flowers.

I would call on supermarkets to introduce an ethical policy relating to alcohol sales, including restricting displays to one discreet area in the store, away from children, and to do away with special deals. In the sad absence of government legislation, a voluntary minimum 50p unit pricing agreement between the main outlets would demonstrate that supermarkets signing up to this are worth supporting.

Alongside the Pink Pound and the Ethical Pound, a Social Responsibility Pound might help change the practices of these alcohol bucket shops.

Good news as BHT-led partnership is given the go-ahead to bid for £9.2 million Big Lottery funding

We have had some very good news this week which is attracting some media interest.  A consortium, being led by BHT, is in the running for funding from the Big Lottery of up to £10 million over 8 years.  The initiative is designed to improve services for men and women with complex needs (a combination of mental ill health, homelessness, offending behaviour and substance misuse problems) in Brighton, Eastbourne and Hastings. Between now and September, a full bid and business plan needs to be prepared.  A decision will then be made by the Big Lottery and the new services will begin from April 2014.

The purpose of this funding is to bring about lasting change in how services work with people with multiple and complex needs; this funding is a vehicle to help bring about that change. The legacy of the 8 year programme will be that systems and services in all 3 geographical areas will better meet the needs of this group.

At this stage we have been awarded funding to develop the bid on behalf of our partnership which includes partners in local government and in the third / charity sectors.  Should the partnership be successful, it won’t just be BHT staff (contrary to what the Argus reported this morning) who will provide services.

My colleagues, Nikki Homewood and Jo Berry, are leading on this initiative for BHT. Nikki said: “As the lead partner for the Brighton and Hove, Eastbourne and Hastings area, BHT is thrilled to receive funding to develop our partnership bid to ensure better service provision for people with the most complex needs.

“Using the wealth of knowledge and expertise within our local Core Group, comprising seven voluntary sector organisations and five statutory partners including commissioners, along with the 60+ organisations in our Partnership Group, we will develop a programme that will truly bring about change for the clients the programme work with, and local communities.

“Our vision is to bring about long-term systemic change by putting service users at the heart of services, fully understanding what they need in order to move forward with their lives: thorough monitoring and evaluation will result in well-evidenced findings, which will then be used to influence future commissioning.”

BHT’s partners in this initiative, and who are represented on the local Core Group, include: Brighton and Hove City Council, Brighton Women’s Centre, CRI, East Sussex County Council, Eastbourne Borough Council, Hastings Borough Council, Homeless Link, Sanctuary Supported Living, Southdown Housing Association, Sussex Oakleaf, Sussex Probation Service

Reflecting on the ‘C’ word, and mentioning Graham Cox and Germaine Greer in the same breath!

Yesterday morning I posted a blog about the minimum pricing of alcohol in response to reports that the government might not proceed with this policy, a policy I think David Cameron was right to pursue. I tweeted a link to the blog and that is when the ‘fun’ started.

A former parliamentary candidate for a minor political party tweeted an extraordinary response: “Stuff your minimum pricing up your arse – socialist c*nt”. People seemed to like my response: “I’m overwhelmed by thoughtfulness of your argument”.

I can’t say my response was original nor as cutting as that of Stella Creasy MP who, when subjected to vile sexist abuse on Twitter, responded with this devastating riposte: “Your mother must be so proud of you”.

I was surprised by Mr P’s response to my blog, and confused by his subsequent bizarre question to me: “How many NHS patients have you killed?”. (For the record, and for the avoidance of any doubt, none!).

Suggesting that one “stuff your minimum pricing” where the sun don’t shine was not the most constructive intervention, unlike the much more thoughtful and challenging arguments set out by Cllr. Graham Cox on his blog.

Today’s post looks at the phrase “socialist c*nt”.  As for being a socialist, some know about my political background, but others might debate whether I have become a poacher turned gamekeeper. I don’t regard socialist as a dirty word although some use it as a sloppy denunciation of a general political outlook, in the same way as the shock jocks in the USA use the phrase ‘liberal’.

It is the use of the C-word that causes particular offence to many people. I am angered and saddened that this insult is used so freely in social media.

According to Wikipedia, it is “a word for the female genitalia, particularly the vulva, and is widely considered to be vulgar….. Scholar Germaine Greer has said that “it is one of the few remaining words in the English language with a genuine power to shock.” (It) is also used as a derogatory epithet referring to people of either sex….. (It describes) “an unpleasant or stupid person” in the Compact Oxford English Dictionary, whereas Merriam-Webster has a usage of the term as “usually disparaging and obscene: woman”, noting that it is used in the U.S. as “an offensive way to refer to a woman”.”

I don’t expect the C-word to be used in BHT, either as an insult or in ‘jest’, EVER.

There is no equivalent for men or for male genitalia, nothing that carries the same viciousness. Words like ‘knob’ and ‘dick head’ are laced with humour.

We have moved on as a society and today it is less likely that people will use the grossly offensive and racist N-word to describe black people, and similarly language has evolved to respect rather than insult gay men and lesbian women.

I have thought about how I should have responded. I tried humour, perhaps not very well and perhaps not appropriately. I did condemn his grossly offensive and sexist language, as did others.  Mr P’s language attracted wide condemnation which is encouraging.

I finish with reference to a response, on a par with that of Stella Creasy, by Gina Harrison, now sadly dead.  She lived in Norfolk Square.  She always defended the right of street drinkers to drink in the old tram shelters (now sadly demolished) because there was no where else for them to go, but she never gave them money.  One day when she refused to give a drinker any money, he called after her: “You old whore”.  Gina, then well into her eighties, slowly walked up to him and said: “Less of the old, if you don’t mind.” Now that’s style.

Calling on Sussex MP’s to support the minimum pricing of alcohol to save lives

There are rumours this morning that the government is about to abandon its plan for the minimum pricing of alcohol in England and Wales.  Minimum pricing is something that I have supported for many years and blogged about on several occasions.  Conservative Member of Parliament, Sarah Wollaston, herself a former GP, said “To ditch this evidence-based measure would be a real tragedy.”

The introduction of a minimum price would save lives and save public expenditure.

In November 2011, a group of 19 leading medical organisations said that “pocket-money prices” for alcohol contributed to the loss of thousands of lives every year. The British Medical Association and the Royal College of Physicians claimed that minimum pricing for alcohol would be the most “simple and effective mechanism” for tackling the problem.

Figures published in December that year showed that twice as many people were being treated in hospital because of alcohol misuse compared with 10 years earlier. Alcohol is linked to more than one million admissions to hospital each year, about 13,000 new cases of cancer and one in four deaths of people aged 15 to 24. It is now the single largest cause of deaths among young people.

Alcohol pricing is an important issue when it comes to homeless and poor men and women. Some will say that by increasing alcohol prices, those least able to afford higher prices will be disproportionately disadvantaged. My view is that if higher prices saves lives it is something I will happily support.

The alcohol that homeless people drink is amongst the cheapest. A 4.5 litre of white cider costs just 11p per unit.

Scotland is currently trying to introduce a minimum alcohol price of about 50p a unit. What difference will it make to pricing? In England and Wales the government consulted on a 45p minimum per unit. A bottle of own-brand gin with around 37.5% alcohol content would go up from £6.95 to £11.85. A two-litre bottle of own-brand cider would more than triple in price from £1.20 to £3.75. The cost of a £12 bottle of whisky would rise to £12.60, while a bottle of cheap wine would go up from around £3.75 to £4.20. A four-pack of beer with more than 5% alcohol content would cost a minimum of about £3.95.

Can Britain introduce minimum pricing for alcohol? European law is sometimes referred to by those opposing minimum pricing, saying that EU law will not allow its introduction. Minimum prices are only likely to be allowed if the government can show that it is tackling a major health problem and that it is not undermining competition.

There needs to be the political will to do something as radical, yet as obvious, as this. The current Scottish governments has this will, and I commend them for it.  It is rumoured that the Chancellor will announce the abandonment of the minimum priceing in his Budget next week.  I urge all our Sussex MP’s to lobby the Prime Minister and the Chancellor to hold their nerve so that lives can be saved.

Brighton’s night time economy is tarnishing the city’s brand

On September 26^th, I am speaking in a debate being organised by the Brighton and Hove Chamber of Commerce.  The question is: “This house believes that Brighton’s night time economy is tarnishing the city’s brand”.  I will be speaking in favour of the question.  Other speakers include Justin Manning from the Queen’s Hotel, Nigel Liddell of the Brighton & Hove Business Crime Reduction Partnership, and Ian Chisnall, organiser of Brighton & Hove Street Pastors.

I would be interested in what you think so that I can properly think through the issues.

I come to this issue as someone who feels that, put quite simply, aspects of the night time economy threatens the economy of Brighton, including other parts of the night time economy which are essential for the economic well being of the City.

For example, take so called ‘party houses’. Rather than the traditional tourist infrastructure (hotels, restaurants, etc.) benefiting from weekend visitors and other tourists, these houses are a nightmare for neighbours. They facilitate the ‘front-loading’ of alcohol before these visitors descending on the town centre where their behaviour is often not conducive for others (guests staying in hotels, families out for dinner, theatre goers, etc.).

The spending power of those on alcohol-fuelled weekend breaks (hen and stag events) is limited.  They are focused on alcohol outlets that encourage/facilitate further drinking.  Having lived in the town centre for many years, and having represented Regency Ward on the old Brighton Borough Council, I now actively avoid going into the centre of Brighton after 8pm on a Friday or Saturday evening.  My spending power is thus denied those restaurants and facilities that might otherwise have benefited from it.

For a year I chaired the Licensing Committee on Brighton Borough Council.  That year, because of close co-operation between the Council, Sussex Police and licensees, we were able to regulate the night time economy in a way that incidents of violence were clamped down on.  Licensees who failed to co-operate risked having their Public Entertainment Licences revoked.  The result was that on New Year’s Eve 1986, there was not a single arrest for violence or drunken disorder in Brighton.

Unless we ensure that the night time economy is robustly managed, the image of the City will become tarnished, at great cost to businesses and residents alike.

Let me know what you think.

 

(Note: when this item was first posted I referred to no arrests in 2006. It should have been 1986.  My apologies).

Drug and Alcohol Conference 5th July 2012

The Drugs & Alcohol Today exhibition co-hosted with the 16th Annual Sussex DAAT Drug & Alcohol conference

Thursday 5^th July 2012               Holiday Inn, Brighton

The event features a full programme of CPD accredited seminars and the exhibition of local, regional and national organisations and projects.

Only £30 to attend, with free places available to people currently using drug and/or alcohol services, unwaged, full-time students and volunteers.

How to register to attend

• Further information and register to attend at: www.drugsandalcoholtodayexhibition.co.uk
• Contact Pavilion customer services on 01273 43 49 43 or info@pavpub.com

Exhibitors include

• ADFAM
• Pavilion bookshop
• Brighton & Hove Drug & Alcohol Action Team
• Frontier Medical Group
• Action for Change
• Blithe Computer Systems
• Phoenix Futures
• Kenward Trust
• Open University
• Trust the Process Counselling
• Illy Systems

Seminars include

• Drugs strategy update: the current landscape
• Unpicking the alcohol recovery agenda: how can local authorities combine responsibilities and resources to maximum benefit?
• The long view: what does the future look like for the sector without a national champion?
• Managing substance misuse during pregnancy
• What does recovery mean for families?
• Prevention, alcohol, and young people
• Transitions for young people
• Case Study: Delivering an effective early intervention model for drugs & alcohol – Nottingham DrugAware Programme
• Resilience
• Recovery Pathway
• Case Study: The Frequent Flyers Project
• Case Study: The hostel-based Clinical Nurse Pilot
• Peer mentoring, SMART and volunteering
• Drug & alcohol consultations in A&E
• Workforce support & development
• Case study: Operation Street
• Joint commissioning for substance misuse
• The role of GPs in recovery

Speakers include

• Martin Barnes, Chief Executive, DrugScope
• Eric Appleby, Chief Executive, Alcohol Concern
• Carole Sharma, Chief Executive, Federation of Drug & Alcohol Professionals
• Richard Pike, South East Recovery Community Coordinator, CRI
• Joss Smith, Director of Policy and Regional Development, ADFAM
• Andy Winter, Chief Executive, Brighton Housing Trust
• Mark Gilman, National Strategic Recovery Lead, National Treatment Agency
• Sergeant Richard Siggs, Sussex Police
• Nicola Singleton, Director of Policy Research, UKDPC
• Tom Scanlon, Director of Public Health, NHS Brighton & Hove

Celebrating the amazing work of volunteers at BHT

Last year BHT benefited from the contribution of 103 volunteers. This is the most volunteers we have ever had, and excludes social work students and those who have joined our Intern Programme.

The benefit derived from our volunteers is enormous, both by our clients and by staff members.

Next week is Volunteers Week, and on Wednesday we will be recognising the work of some of our volunteers at an event being hosted by the Mayor of Brighton and Hove, Cllr Bill Randall?

Volunteering in BHT is usually restricted to current and former clients, as part of our commitment to increase the employability of clients. But this last year we have recruited 32 law students to supplement the work of our lawyers and advisers.

Our Addiction Services had 24 volunteers, 20 at the Detox Support Project and 4 at the Recovery Project. A new initiative at the Detox Support Project is the creation of ‘Recovery Buddies’, former clients who are paired with those new to recovery to provide encouragement, advice and a role model. Clients in the Project identify Recovery Buddies as providing exceptional benefit. The Recovery Buddies initiative has been co-ordinated by a former client and volunteer herself. She has recently been recruited into a paid role within the service.

Volunteering at the Detox Support Project is a win-win-win situation: clients benefit from additional support received, volunteers get huge satisfaction from giving something back and it prepares them for work, and the organisation is able to broaden its offer to clients.
I am really pleased that the Mayor will be recognising the contribution of our volunteers.
My only regret is that we are often not able to respond positively to offers of volunteering from the general public. We try to ensure that volunteers are properly training and supported, and we sadly don’t have the capacity to do more?

What is poverty in the United Kingdom in 2012?

In 1978, my last year before I left South Africa, I did some work amongst the children of migrant workers in an area with incredibly high infant mortality levels. I recall the faces of very young children who were deprived of both maternal care and sufficient nutrition to survive. The area had an infant mortality rate of 20%.

That experience has stayed with me ever since.

While it is not directly comparable, I have found myself involved in discussions in recent weeks regarding poverty in the UK in 2012. At a recent BHT Board of Management away day the issue of poverty was an ever-present theme.

In my opening comments I warned Board members that we can expect to see new forms of poverty over the next few years. In addition to our traditional work of combating homelessness, addressing housing need and delivering specialist services (such as those that address mental ill-health, alcohol and drug problems and worklessness) we need to think about alleviating the worst aspects of this new poverty.

But the question that remained unanswered is quite what we mean by poverty in the UK in 2012. We touched on issues of parents, faced with the introduction of universal credit, housing benefit changes and increasing unemployment, having to make decisions about priorities such as paying the rent, service charge, heating bills and food.

I don’t think that I’m being alarmist. Tough choices like that are already being made.

But what does poverty mean today? I would really be interested to hear your views on this. Please leave a comment on this blog.