16 November 2011
Key representatives from organisations across the Caerphilly county borough met today to look at the impact of alcohol misuse in our local communities.
Agencies including Caerphilly County Borough Council, Gwent Police and the Aneurin Bevan Health Board met at Llancaiach Fawr for the annual Standing Conference.
This week is Alcohol Awareness Week so the aim of the event was to look at ways of working together to tackle drink-related problems in our society. A clear message emerged that alcohol misuse has far reaching impact in terms of health, family life and anti-social behaviour in our community.
Leader of council, Cllr Allan Pritchard said, "Alcohol misuse impacts our society in so many ways. It can penetrate the very core of our families and communities, so it is important that we join forces to look at how we deal with the issues resulting from this drinking culture. The difficulty facing us is how we manage the accessibility of alcohol and its affordability and the way we change the culture of drinking that has developed over the years."
Carmel Napier, Chief Constable of Gwent Police said, "We need to work together and examine the way alcohol impacts our communities and how we can tackle key problems. We need to join up the various bits of our businesses to make our joint efforts far more effective in dealing with alcohol abuse."
Andrew Goodall, Chief Executive of Aneurin Bevan Health Board added, "A powerful message has emerged from the local Youth Forum saying that we should prioritise the way we deal with alcohol issues. It is clear that we have a major challenge ahead of us, but we have a duty to ensure our young people now and in the future, approach alcohol in a responsible manner so we can protect their health and wellbeing."
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