Alcohol Concern: Powerful Panel to Focus on Alcohol

Alcohol Concern is today hosting a panel of senior figures from the
public policy arena, the media, and industry to identify what they
think should be the main priorities and devise solutions for the ways
alcohol damages people and families. The panel's conclusions will feed
into the government's promised review of its three-year Alcohol Strategy.

Srabani Sen, Chief Executive of Alcohol Concern, says:
"Alcohol damages the lives of between 8 million and 12 million people
in this country. It is a major problem for society and the time is
right to take a fresh look at how we reduce its impact".

The panel is comprised of Matthew Taylor (Chief Executive of the Royal
Society for the Encouragement of the Arts), Deborah Arnott (Director
of ASH), Nick Starling (Director of General Insurance and Health, > Association of British Insurers), Andrew McCulloch (Chief Executive of
the Mental Health Foundation), Alison Benjamin (Deputy Editor of the
Society
Guardian) and Srabani Sen.

The panel will look at a range of issues including:
* Alcohol and the Public Health. Up to 150,000 hospital admissions and
22,000 deaths are associated with alcohol each year. Government
calculates that the annual cost from alcohol to the NHS is £1.7 billion.
* Alcohol and Crime. Almost half of victims of violent crime have said
that the perpetrator was under the influence of alcohol at the time of
the offence. Alcohol-related crime and disorder costs the country up
to £7.3 billion each year.
* Alcohol and Young People. UK teenagers report some of the highest
levels of lifetime drunkenness in Europe. There is evidence of a
narrowing gap between binge drinking boys, and binge drinking girls.
The numbers of under 18 year olds entering hospital with
alcohol-related conditions has leapt to more than 8,000 for 2006/2007.
* Alcohol and the Economy. Alcohol misuses costs the economy up to
£6.4 billion in lost productivity through workplace accidents,
absenteeism and reduced employment.

Notes to editors
* Alcohol Concern is the national agency working to reduce alcohol
related harm in society. We work to reduce the incidence and costs of
alcohol-related harm and to increase the range and quality of alcohol
services available to problem drinkers and their families.

* Matthew Taylor has been Chief Executive of the RSA since November
2006. Prior to this he was Chief Adviser on Political Strategy to the
Prime Minister. He was also Director of the Institute for Public
Policy Resarch (IPPR), one of Britain's leading think tanks between
1999 and 2003.

* Deborah Arnott has been the Director of ASH, one of the UK's leading
campaigning charities, since May 2003.Previously Head of Consumer
Education for the Financial Services Authority (FSA), she has a varied
background including experience as a journalist both in print and in
television. As a producer director and then programme editor in
factual programmes for London Weekend Television she developed and
launched a wide range of programmes.

* Nick Starling is Director of General Insurance at the Association of
British Insurers (ABI). He joined ABI in January 2005 from the Health
and Safety Executive, where he was Board Member and Director of Policy
Programmes. His earlier career was in the Department of Transport,
where he held a wide range of policy posts, primarily in aviation,
highways and railways, and as Private Secretary to the Minister for Roads and Traffic.

* Andrew McCulloch is Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foundation.
Prior to his appointment, McCulloch had been Director of Policy at The
Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health for 6 years. Andrew was also a
senior civil servant in the Department of Health for 16 years and was
responsible for mental health and learning disabilities policy from 1992 to 1996.

* Alison Benjamin is deputy editor of SocietyGuardian. She joined the
Guardian four years ago after a number of years as a freelance writer
specialising in social housing, the voluntary sector and corporate
social responsibility. She also edited Corporate Citizen, a journal
examining businesses' role in society.

* Srabani Sen joined Alcohol Concern as Chief Executive in 2004. Her
professional background is in communications and public affairs,
working in the voluntary and public sectors. Prior to joining Alcohol
Concern, Srabani was Acting Director of Nations, Regions and
Campaigning for Diabetes UK. Her role there involved shaping how the
organisation influenced the delivery of improved services for people
with diabetes by the NHS.