Ministers to review alcohol research group

Cathy Newman ~ Financial Times ~ October 1 2005

Ministers are to respond to concerns they have been "captured" by the licensing industry by overhauling a government-sponsored group that carries out research on the impact of binge-drinking.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is expected to remove the Portman Group, the industry body, from the government-sponsored Alcohol Education and Research Council after a row about the influence that drinks producers have over studies on alcohol misuse.

The government has been accused of caving in to industry pressure over its decision to give the go-ahead for 24-hour drinking, the biggest relaxation of licensing laws for 90 years. The Tories say the new laws, which come into effect at the end of next month, will exacerbate binge-drinking and alcohol-related crime.

A senior Whitehall insider told the FT last night: "We are reviewing the council. That will mean the Portman Group coming off it. We think that it's wrong to accuse Jean Coussins [chief executive of the Portman Group] of not having been independent, but given the overall public concern about alcohol there's probably a better mechanism that can be arrived at. We're recognising that the council needs to be seen to be totally independent."

Last night, the government announced a review of the organisation. The council's website described studying the causes of binge-drinking and the role of the industry as a "priority".

It wants to explore the role of "marketing activities in encouraging excessive alcohol consumption, particularly in young people", and "how the UK drinks industry interacts with the government".

Some medical experts represented on the council fear that its studies could be undermined by the involvement of the Portman Group.

A Downing Street study into alcohol misuse was criticised as a sop to drinks companies. Theresa May, shadow culture secretary, said last night: "Everybody, from the medical profession to the police, are concerned about the consequences of the binge-drinking culture in the UK."

The Portman Group was set up by leading drinks producers in 1989 to promote responsible drinking. Noel Olsen, council chairman, welcomed the review, saying he hoped "in future, scientific and medical knowledge on alcohol policy, together with the lessons that can be gained from overseas, will play a greater part in government policy on alcohol".