On this page you can find details about the important area of alcohol licensing that the ExILEnS project is exploring, the main research objectives, and the different stages of the project.
Who is involved?
ExILEnS is funded by the National Institute for Health Research [Public Health Research programme] (project number 15/129/11).
- The Principal Investigator is Niamh Fitzgerald (University of Stirling).
- The Co-Investigators are Frank de Vocht (University of Bristol), Colin Angus (University of Sheffield,), James Nicholls (Alcohol Research UK), Matt Egan (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine), Niamh Shortt (University of Edinburgh), Tim Nichols (former licensing professional in Brighton), and Linda Bauld (University of Stirling).
- The project is supported by a team of qualitative and quantitative researchers at the collaborating institutions as well as by Alcohol Focus Scotland.
- The project is overseen by an advisory group chaired by Professor Eileen Kaner (Newcastle University). The advisory group includes public health professionals, academics from national and international institutions, non-governmental organisations, and two members of the public.
Why is the ExILEnS project investigating alcohol licensing?
In England and Scotland, local council licensing authorities regulate the sale of alcohol. The statutory objectives of the alcohol licensing system are to prevent crime, disorder and public nuisance, promote public safety, and protect children from harm and, in Scotland only, to protect and improve public health.
Since 2011 in England and 2009 in Scotland, local Public Health Teams, including alcohol and drug partnerships and public health departments in Scotland, are designated as ‘Responsible Authorities’ for licensing. Subsequently, many have become proactive in engaging with alcohol licensing (e.g. collating and using local data on availability and harms) to:
- Help councils decide if the number of premises in an area are causing problems
- Make representations against licence applications
- Help develop licensing conditions for individual premises
- Involve local communities in licensing issues
The level, type, and intensity of activity by local Public Health Teams (and related groups) varies between different local authorities. Little is known about if, or how, Public Health Team involvement influences licensing policy and decisions, as well as health or crime outcomes. Better evidence is needed to decide whether and how best for Public Health Teams to engage with licensing processes, and for licensing authorities to understand what elements of licensing lead to, or have the potential to reduce, alcohol-related harms.
Research aims
The overall aim of the ExILEnS project is to assess public health engagement in licensing in England and Scotland from 2012 to 2018. We aim to explore the mechanisms and processes of change and compare areas with differing types and intensity of engagement in terms of licensing activities, costs, benefits and impacts on alcohol-related harms.
Our primary research question is: Does intensive Public health engagement in alcohol licensing reduce alcohol harms, in local authorities where such activity exists, compared with authorities with low levels of activity, or none at all?
Our secondary research questions are: What are the costs, mechanisms of action, and impact on health inequalities of public health engagement in licensing? How do levels of engagements, acceptability, processes and outcomes vary between Scotland (where public health is a licensing objective) and England (where it is not) and between different Public Health Teams and local areas?
Summary of the ExILEnS methods
The ExILEnS Project began in April 2017 and will run until March 2020. It will recruit 20 Public Health Teams who are highly active in their local licensing processes, and will match these to 20 Public Health teams who have lower activity or no reported activity.
The project is divided into four work packages:
