To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Institute of Alcohol Studies' report, Inequalities in victimisation: alcohol, violence and anti-social behaviour, published in May 2020, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the findings of that report.
Answered on
11 February 2021
The Government is committed to tackling and preventing anti-social behaviour. The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of flexible tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to anti-social behaviour.
The Government has a wide-ranging approach to support the most vulnerable at risk from alcohol misuse, including support for children of alcohol dependent parents and action to reduce alcohol-related crime. Since 2016 the Government has invested more than £16 billion in local government public health services, including alcohol treatment services.
Alcohol is no excuse for domestic abuse or any other kind of abusive behaviour. The Domestic Abuse Bill introduces new Domestic Abuse Protection Orders that will allow courts to tailor requirements to address the perpetrator’s behaviour. This could include abuse exacerbated by alcohol, for example a requirement to be assessed for an alcohol treatment programme.