Alcohol Harm Commission: Report 2020

Lord Bishop of Carlisle Excerpts

Thursday 22nd April 2021 Grand Committee

[The Lord Bishop of Carlisle [V]]

My Lords, I too congratulate the commission on its work in highlighting the harm caused by the abuse of alcohol. I wish to focus my brief remarks on the relationship between alcohol and domestic violence.

The statistics make this clear. Home Office figures indicate that alcohol is involved in up to 50% of cases of domestic abuse, as we were informed earlier by the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay. Though not necessarily a direct cause, it is frequently a significant contributary factor. What is more, when alcohol is involved, the abuse affecting children, as well as adults, is more likely to be serious, increasing the risk of physical, emotional and psychological harm. This has, of course, been a particular problem during the last year with the various restrictions that have been imposed to counter the coronavirus pandemic. The commission’s findings on this, as well as several other types of harm, must surely cause Her Majesty’s Government to rethink the statement made in January 2020 that they

“are not planning a stand-alone strategy”—[Official Report, 21/1/20; col. 1043.]

for alcohol. It would complement, rather than cut across, proposals made in the NHS Long Term Plan.

The commission strongly recommends a strategic approach that would not only address the link between alcohol abuse and domestic violence but take into account some of the factors that frequently accompany harmful alcohol consumption. These factors include educational exclusion, social deprivation, financial distress, employment worries and psychological pressures. I wholeheartedly commend the commission’s proposal that the domestic abuse commissioner role, which is being created as part of the Domestic Abuse Bill, must have a duty to have regard to the link between alcohol and domestic abuse in its work.