Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Government's Public Health Responsibility Deal in reducing alcohol-related harms.

The Department is committed to helping people live well for longer. The Responsibility Deal pledge to remove one billion units of alcohol from the market by the end of 2015 (a reduction of around 2%) has a role to play in supporting improvements in reducing alcohol-related harms. In the first year of this four year pledge, 253 million units of alcohol were taken out of the market. A copy of the report showing this analysis has already been placed in the Library.

Because much alcohol-attributable harm occurs in middle or older age groups as a result of years of drinking above the lower-risk guidelines, even a relatively small reduction is likely to have a significant impact upon long-term and chronic illnesses.

Improving consumer awareness can help people make informed choices about when and how much they drink. For advice on alcohol consumption to be meaningful, people need to be able to put it into the context of their own drinking habits. To increase awareness and understanding of alcohol units, the lower-risk drinking guidelines and the Chief Medical Officer’s advice on drinking during pregnancy, 92 companies committed to displaying this information on 80% of bottles and cans by the end of 2013.

An independent market survey has been carried out which we expect to be published shortly. Subject to publication of the final report:

- On a market share based on the total numbers of bottles and cans (ie a distinct item), 79.3% of bottles and cans have this information.

- On a market share based on alcohol by volume, 69.9% of bottles and cans have this information.

In addition to unit and health information on bottles and cans, pub chains and retailers committed to providing unit and health information. This year, Ipsos Mori carried out an independent survey of whether the public saw such information. 27% of the public said they saw a British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) or Wine and Spirits Trade Association (WSTA) unit awareness image; 41% of 18-24 year-olds recalled seeing at least one image; 27% saw something similar and 52% of those also saw BBPA or WSTA materials.