Health groups walk away from Responsibility Deal

Leading health organisations have criticised the Government over its "responsibility deal" on alcohol and refused to sign up as partners.

Six organisations, including Alcohol Concern, the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Physicians, have accused the Department of Health of allowing the drinks industry to dictate health policy.

Under the deal, which is set to be announced on Tuesday by Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary, the drinks industry would be asked to sign up to a number of alcohol pledges.

These reportedly include ensuring 80% of products on the shelf are labelled for unit content, raising awareness of the unit content of drinks in pubs and clubs and taking action to reduce under-age drinking.

However, the six organisations, which also include the British Association for the Study of the Liver, the British Liver Trust, and the Institute of Alcohol Studies, have refused to support the deal.

Worst possible deal​

They said the pledges were neither specific nor measurable, that they lacked scope and that there was no evidence such voluntary interventions would be effective.

A statement read: "We have not yet seen evidence that Government is working towards a comprehensive, cross-departmental strategy to reduce alcohol harm, based on evidence of what works, with rigorous evaluation metrics."

Don Shenker, chief executive of Alcohol Concern, said: "This is the worst possible deal for everyone who wants to see alcohol harm reduced.

"There are no firm targets or any sanctions if the drinks industry fails to fulfil its pledges. It's all carrot and no stick for the drinks industry and supermarkets.

"By allowing the drinks industry to propose such half-hearted pledges on alcohol with no teeth, this Government has clearly shown that when it comes to public health its first priority is to side with big business and protect private profit."

A Government spokesman said: "We made clear from the start that the responsibility deal is just one strand of the Government's wide public health policy. It explicitly excludes pricing discussions and price competition to avoid breaches in competition law.

"The Treasury have already announced an introduction of a new tax on super-strength beers; the Home Office have made their announcement on a ban in sales of alcohol below cost and plans to tighten licensing laws; and, our public health strategy sets out how local areas will be given a ring-fenced public health budget to ensure alcohol misuse

gets the priority it deserves.

"In tandem to this action, the responsibility deal is working with the industry on voluntary agreements to get speedier results. For example, to improve unit labelling. The Responsibility Deal has achieved more in the last six months than the previous Government's Coalition for Better Health did in a year and a half. What is more, this is only the first step".