Alcohol Standards appoints adviser

Published: 28 July, 2009

The Retail of Alcohol Standards Group (RASG) has appointed an adviser to help battle underage binge drinking in local communities across the UK.

Philip Loring - formerly head of central operations for First Quench Retailing - will work with retailers and enforcement agencies around the country to advance new and existing projects. His role will see him develop the work of Community Alcohol Partnerships (CAPs).

There are now nine CAPs in operation in the UK, including a new project in Fife supported by police and the local National Health Service.

The projects aim to tackle the problems caused to communities by underage drinking through co-operation between alcohol retailers and local police, local authority licensing teams, schools and health networks.

A toolkit to help local authorities, police and retailers set up CAPs was developed off the back of a successful pilot scheme in St. Neots, Cambridgeshire in 2007.

Philip Loring said of his appointment: "It's a privilege to be asked to help drive this work forward on behalf of the industry. Retailers have done much already to address the issue of underage alcohol purchase and I am confident our development of Community Alcohol Partnerships will continue to have an impact."

He will be based at the Wine and Spirit Trade Assoication's offices in London.

Nick Grant, chairman of the Retail of Alcohol Standards Group, said that Loring's experience will help retailers and government agencies understand partnership working.

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