A NEW partnership which aims to highlight the risks of underage drinking has been launched in Workington today, Monday 3 July.

Community Alcohol Partnerships (CAPs) are made up of partnerships between Local Authorities, Police, youth providers, schools, retailers, neighbourhood groups and health providers.

Partners in the South Workington CAP 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 associated with the partnership will be working together to highlight the risks of underage drinking and improve the health and wellbeing of local children and young people.

The Workington CAP will be engaging with young people in Workington secondary schools 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 partnership 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 such as alcohol, vaping and drugs and anti-social and criminal behaviour.

The Workington CAP will also be working with local 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, local Police will be calling in to licensed premises in the area to discuss the CAP and to give out posters and flyers warning against proxy purchase. They will also provide details of the free online Challenge 25 training.

Cllr Martin Harris, Cumberland Council’s portfolio holder for Adult and Community Health said:

“It’s fantastic to see this new partnership come together to tackle the issue of underage drinking in the Workington area. I hope that by working together, we can reduce the level of underage drinking in the area and provide young people with a clearer understanding of how alcohol, vaping and drugs can affect their lives.

“I’m confident that this partnership approach will have a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of local children and young people in this area.”

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 new CAP initiative to tackle these issues.”

Derek Lewis, Chair of CAP said: 

"I am always pleased to see the launch of new partnerships.

“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 CAPs are having a significant impact on reducing alcohol consumption amongst 13- and 16-year-olds in the areas in which they operate.

“Local CAP schemes are established and run by people from a variety of organisations within their communities, including retailers, local authorities, police forces and schools to identify and tackle the problems associated with underage drinking. All CAPs are tailored to the needs of their local community which means that they are highly effective in getting to the root cause of the problem."

ENDS

Notes to editors:

About Community Alcohol Partnerships:

CAPs bring together a range of local stakeholders with a shared interest in preventing underage drinking and encouraging responsible drinking among young adults.

A rigorous evaluation framework shows how this innovative partnership approach has brought significant reductions in alcohol supply to children, alcohol-related anti-social behaviour and underage street drinking, with CAP areas demonstrating:

• 61% average reductions in weekly drinking among 13–16-year-olds
• 99% of retailers passed Challenge 25 compliance test for alcohol sales
• 86% of retailers did not sell alcohol when they suspected it was a ‘proxy’ sale
• 50% reduction in young people hanging around shops and asking adults to buy alcohol for them
• 42% reduction in youth alcohol-related anti-social behaviour. For more information visit: www.communityalcoholpartnerships.co.uk

For media information please contact: Samantha Patel, Communications Manager, CAP [email protected]