Balance North East
Balance North East is, in their own words:
...the North East of England’s Alcohol Office - and the first of its kind in the UK.
We are aiming to inspire changes to the way people in the North East think about and drink alcohol. We aren’t saying no to alcohol and we still want people to enjoy themselves. But we do want to encourage people to reduce their consumption – and reduce the impact that alcohol is having on our region[1].
They are wholly (with one possible exception) funded by the UK taxpayer:
Balance is funded by the North East’s Primary Care Trusts and also receives support from the North East Police Forces with a full time seconded Police Officer leading on the crime and disorder programme.
The organisation also brings together a number of other partners and stakeholders including:
- Local authorities
- Health services
- Police forces
- Emergency services
- Voluntary agencies
- Alcohol support groups
- Treatment services
- Prison and probation services[2]
They have already lobbied government for controls on alcohol, first by repeating the affordability myth:
Alcohol is too affordable. It is available for pocket money prices:
- Alcohol in 2010 was 44% more affordable than it was in 1980, (NHS Information Centre Stats on Alcohol, 2011).
- Alcohol is being sold for as little as 12p per unit in some parts of the North East (Balance Price Survey 2011).
- A man can drink at his recommended daily limit (3-4 units) for just 48p and weekly limit for just £2.52 (Balance Price Survey 2011).
- A woman can drink at her daily limit (2-3 units) for just 36p (considerably less than the price of a can of leading cola) or weekly limit for £1.68 (Balance Price Survey 2011)[3].
Then providing the usual solutions for the perceived problems:
- Make it less affordable so poor people get poorer[4]
- Make it less available, even though 24 hour licensing didn't actually bring in wholesale 24x7 sales[5]
- Restricting promotion, which isn't part of slippery slope of the tobacco control template. Oh no it isn't[6]
- Spending more tax-payer money on unneeded services[7]
- More bully-statism in educating the proles[8]
- Even more tax-payers money to fund groups like Balance North East[9]
References
- ↑ http://www.balancenortheast.co.uk/about-us/
- ↑ http://www.balancenortheast.co.uk/about-us/our-funders/
- ↑ http://www.balancenortheast.co.uk/about-us/making-a-change/
- ↑ http://www.balancenortheast.co.uk/the-solutions/less-affordable-/
- ↑ http://www.balancenortheast.co.uk/the-solutions/make-it-less-available/
- ↑ http://www.balancenortheast.co.uk/the-solutions/restrict-promotion/
- ↑ http://www.balancenortheast.co.uk/the-solutions/investment-in-services/
- ↑ http://www.balancenortheast.co.uk/the-solutions/increase-awareness/
- ↑ http://www.balancenortheast.co.uk/the-solutions/government-support/