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 A summary of current Welsh Government initiatives can be found in the public affairs overview document on the Public Affairs & Media page.

Alcohol Strategy

The Welsh Assembly Government launched a 10 year strategy ‘Working Together to Reduce Harm The Substance Misuse Strategy for Wales 2008-2018’, in October 2008. The Strategy is available online here.

The Strategy has four key aims:
• Reducing the harm to individuals (particularly young people), their families and wider communities from the misuse of drugs and alcohol;
• Improving the availability and quality of education, prevention and treatment services and related support, with a greater priority given to those related to alcohol;
• Making better use of resources – supporting evidenced based decision making; developing the skills base of partners and service providers and joining up agencies and services more effectively in line with ’Making the Connections’; and,
• Embedding the core Welsh Assembly Government values of sustainability, equality and diversity, support for the Welsh language and developing citizen focused services in both the development and delivery of the strategy

Many of the Welsh Assembly Government’s policy intentions with regard to alcohol are aspirational in that licensing, advertising and tax powers are reserved for the UK Parliament.  However, the WSTA engages with policy makers and enforcement authorities in Wales to ensure that proactive partnership based solutions are developed in order to tackle alcohol related problems in accordance with the better regulation principles.

Licensing

In England and Wales, the Licensing Act 2003 came fully into force in November 2005.
Licensing Authorities (usually local authorities) are responsible for licensing the sale and supply of alcohol, the provision of regulated entertainment and the provision of late night refreshment in England and Wales. If you are carrying on any of these activities, you will need the relevant authorisation and should speak to your local licensing authority.
You can find your local authority by accessing the following link:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Dl1/Directories/Localcouncils/index.htm

The WSTA has produced clear and concise Licensing Guides for Producers, retailers, wholesalers and distance sellers.  These explain licensing requirements since the Licensing Act 2003 came into force and are available FREE for members and can be found in the members area of our website, or for non-members to purchase on the publications page.

Click here to access an introduction to the Licensing Act 2003