Greater Manchester unites to tackle alcohol abuse

Councils, health services and the police have today officially teamed up to tackle alcohol abuse in Greater Manchester.

This is the first time ever in the UK such a large number of public bodies have united to launch a joint effort to deal with the problems caused by alcohol harm.

It is estimated excess alcohol consumption in Greater Manchester costs £1.2bn every year. That’s £436 for every person living in the region.

The strategy, which was officially endorsed today by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), focuses on prevention of alcohol abuse and bringing in measures to tackle the problems it causes.

The strategy sets out a number of recommendations which include:

· Ensuring licensing powers are more effective and used consistently

· Putting the right services in place to protect victims of domestic abuse

· Improving awareness of the impact of drinking to the whole population

Mike Connolly, Leader of Bury Council and GMCA’s lead for the strategy said: “The impact of alcohol abuse is huge and it’s everybody’s business. It impacts on the health and wellbeing of our residents, the safety of our communities and the future success of our town centres and their night-time economies. It’s essential that all public bodies from across our region work together to tackle this scourge on our society.''