New partnerships have been launched to tackle underage drinking in Cumbria.
A Community Alcohol Partnership has been set up for Whitehaven, Cleator Moor, Millom, Egremont and another for Workington.
Partners include Cumberland Council, Cumbria police, Edge NE, third sector support, licensing leads, schools and Public Health.
The launch of the partnership coincides with the start of Alcohol Awareness Week and Anti-Social Behaviour Awareness Week.
All organisations will work together to highlight the risks of underage drinking and improve the health and wellbeing of local children and young people.
The partnerships will engage with secondary school pupils to gain insight into their alcohol use. The partnership will use this information to work with youth services and local organisations to provide better support for young people.
The partnerships will also work with local schools to educate young people about underage drinking and ensure that they are equipped to make the right decisions about issues including alcohol, vaping and drugs and anti-social and criminal behaviour.
They will also work with retailers, aiming to help them avoid making underage alcohol sales and reduce ‘proxy’ sales, where adults buy alcohol for under-18s.
During Alcohol Awareness Week, police officers will call in to licensed premises in the area to discuss the partnerships and to give out posters and flyers warning against proxy purchase. They will also provide details of the free online Challenge 25 training.
Colin Cox, director of Public Health for Cumberland Council, said: “Young people can face difficult challenges in their lives, and we need to ensure they have the confidence to help them make the right decisions, especially since alcohol abuse can severely impact on the ability to make positive choices.
“Young people drinking can also impact on the whole community and we have listened to local concerns, and I am pleased to see the community and partners coming together in this initiative to tackle these issues.”
Derek Lewis, chair of Community Alcohol Partnerships, said: “We know from research that underage drinking can lead to many social and educational problems for children and young people. We also know from our evaluations that partnerships are having a significant impact on reducing alcohol consumption amongst 13 and 16-year-olds in the areas in which they operate.”
