Wantage & Grove Community Alcohol Partnership (CAP) wins three national awards for tackling underage drinking
Wantage & Grove Community Alcohol Partnership (CAP) is celebrating after winning three national awards for its work tackling underage drinking.
Chair Nigel Watt received the CAP of the Year Award from MP Fiona Bruce, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Alcohol Harm, at the Westminster launch of the CAP 2017 Impact Report on October 11.
She also presented James Maddern, Head of Engagement and Ethos at King Alfred’s Academy with an individual award for Excellence in Education, while Laura Warner of Thames Valley Police Licencing was highly commended for the outstanding contribution she has made to the CAP’s work.
Fiona Bruce said: “Wantage & Grove truly illustrates CAP’s philosophy of effective partnership working, bringing together a large range of organisations working for the good of their community. They’ve come up with some innovative ideas, from a school stencil competition to using a former ambulance kitted out with activities and games for young people. Regular surveys by the CAP show fewer young people drinking and a decrease in problem behaviour, and a large number of licensees say the CAP has helped to reduce the number of young people attempting to buy alcohol.”
Presenting the award to James Maddern she said: “Alcohol education is an integral part of the CAP approach, but it wouldn’t be possible without the involvement and support of local schools. When the Wantage & Grove CAP was launched in 2015 it struggled to engage with pupils – until James Maddern, Head of Engagement and Ethos at King Alfred’s Academy, got involved. James 100% understands and believes in the aims of CAP. He knows the positive impact it has on individual pupils, classes, families, the school and community as a whole.”
CAP’s 2017 impact report shows how local CAPs are empowering communities by bringing together retailers, local authorities, police, schools, neighbourhood groups and health providers, working together to tackle underage drinking and improve the quality of life for residents. CAP has now announced plans to double the number of CAPs around the country and extend its remit to provide continued support as children become young adults.
National CAP Chair Derek Lewis said: “CAPs offer an evidence-based and locally tailored response to underage alcohol problems. Our targeted approach means that we bring effective national programmes to areas with greatest harms. It is clear from the compelling body of evidence presented in this report that CAPs are making a tangible positive difference to young people, residents and local communities.”
Fiona Bruce added: “It is absolutely vital that we protect young people from the devastating effects of alcohol harm. British children are more likely to binge drink or get drunk than children in most other European countries. This brings serious risks to their health and development and impacts on a wide range of issues, from underperformance at school and later exclusion from the job market, to mental ill health, sexual exploitation, homelessness and imprisonment. I very much welcome CAP’s joined-up, partnership approach to addressing this issue.”
Ends
For media information please contact: Julia Shipston, Communications Manager at CAP: tel: 0771 3163003.
Notes for Editors
• Photographs of Fiona Bruce MP and Nigel Watt, plus Fiona Bruce MP and James Maddern attached.
• In 2014, 38% of 11-15 year olds in England had drunk alcohol. This continued the downward trend since 2003, when 61% of pupils had drunk alcohol.1 However 4% said they drank alcohol at least once a week and a further 5% said they drank once a fortnight.2
• Community Alcohol Partnerships (CAP) schemes are set up to tackle underage drinking and the resulting harm to local communities. All schemes are managed and delivered locally via partnerships between local authorities, police, retailers, schools and neighbourhood groups and health providers, offering a flexible model tailored to fit the needs of each community. All schemes incorporate a mixture of education, enforcement, community engagement and the provision of diversionary activities for young people.
• CAP is a community interest company (CIC), funded by major retailers who share its concerns about underage drinking. Current funders include: Aldi, ASDA, ACS, Brown Forman, Co-op, Diageo, Heineken, Lidl, Marks and Spencer, Molson Coors, One Stop, Sainsbury’s, SHS Drinks, Tesco and Waitrose. We are also grateful to the Welsh Government which provided £15,000 towards the establishment of three new CAPs in Wales.
• The first CAP was set up in St Neots in 2007. Between 2014 and 2016 the number of CAPs more than doubled and there are now 150 across the UK.
1 Statistics on Alcohol, Health and Social Care Information Centre, published 30 June 2016.
2 Data intelligence summary: Alcohol consumption and harm among under 18 year olds, Public Health England, published July 2016.