Abstract BackgroundIn 2011, Directors of Public Health became one of the responsible authorities in the alcohol licensing process in England. Recently Public Health Suffolk have revamped the process of providing input to ensure our vulnerable population are protected against alcohol-induced harms. We developed an application review and response framework to support evidence-based decision-making by the local licensing panels and share our experience. MethodWe use an application triage framework adapted from PHE guidance and have incorporated the degree of concern by the local police. We include data on alcohol-related hospital admissions and A&E attendances, health deprivation, proximity to schools and street drinker hot spots at the premises' neighbourhood level in our submission, bench-marked against local and national data. ResultFrom January to April 2019, we reviewed 72 applications. Out of these, we made four representations; one license was refused, one granted with conditions and we are awaiting two hearings. Our challenge is to attribute Public Health impact to a specific premises as the data is only accessible at the lower super output area level. We have also developed excellent links with the local police and work collaboratively with our knowledge and intelligence team to protect our population from alcohol-related harms.
Conclusion
We intend to continue our current input and will evaluate our impact in a year's time. Our experience so far has shown that Public Health does have a role in influencing licensing decisions, although to a limited extent within the current English legislative framework compared to other devolved nations. External funding details