Modern Assignment Flashcards
What is the structure?
- Role
- Remit
- Background
- Solution 1
- Solution 2
- Solution 3
- Conclusion
- Evaluation of sources
What is my Role?
Advisor to Wes Streeting, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care of the United Kingdom.
What is my Remit?
Tackling underage drinking in the UK.
What is my 1st solution?
Increase minimum unit pricing for alcohol to £1 per unit
What is my 2nd solution?
Increase education in schools on the dangers and impact of alcohol, especially on people under the age of around 25.
What is my 3rd solution?
Reduce the drinking legal age to 16+
Background structure?
- Explain
- Extent of the problem for ever having a drink
- Explain that not the big issue
- Big issue is - Extent of issue being drunk
- New para, impact on underage drinking - explain brain development.
- The impact this has on school and their grades
- Increase in chance of being perp or victim of crime
- The impact it has on the NHS
- Explain again what the report will be about
Example 1 in Background section, for extent of the problem for ever having a drink:
In England (2021), 40% of people aged 11 to 15 reported ever having an alcoholic drink, 42% of girls and 39% of boys. In Scotland (2018), 36% of people aged 13 reported ever having an alcoholic drink, compared to 71% of people aged 15.
Example 2 in Background section, extent of issue being drunk:
In England in 2021, 8% of people aged 11 to 15 had gotten drunk at least once within the last four weeks. In Scotland, 53% of pupils aged 13 who had ever consumed alcohol had been drunk at least once and this percentage increases to 70% when we look at pupils aged 15.
Example 3 in Background section, The impact this has on school and their grades:
Indeed, evidence reveals that children who start to drink by age 13 are more likely to go on to have worse grades, to skip school and even to be excluded from school.
Example 4 in Background section, The impact it has on the NHS:
NHS (in both England, Wales and Scotland), it is costing the NHS, in England, around £19 million a year (as of 2017)
Example 5 in Background section, the further impact on the NHS:
For example the alcohol concern report said that the number of under 18s admitted to hospital due to alcohol had increased by 32% between 2002 and 2007, with an average of 32 being admitted each day
Opening sentence of solution 1:
,as normally when the prices of drinks increase the amount of people purchasing or at least the amount purchased decreases.
What source backs this up: I know that since MUP was introduced in Scotland in 2018, alcohol sales have fallen to their lowest levels since 1994?
Source 4
What source directly relates to underage drinking?
Source 6
The negative of solution 2 is:
This would take a long time to have a meaningful impact on underage drinking and it would have a large financial cost, during a time in which schools do not have the money due to budget cuts
What source shows that schools are using out-dated/misleading info?
Source 11
This would not help the most vulnerable children, what source shows this?
Source 12
Why is solution 3 good?
From my own knowledge I know that the way in which underage drinkers drink is unsafe. Due to young people being unable to drink safely in a bar, they are instead forced to drink in parks, open outdoor spaces and peoples homes. This means that not only are they harming themselves by drinking alcohol, they are also putting themselves at greater risk by consuming alcohol in uncontrolled and unmonitored environments.
Paragraph 2 in solution 3:
Furthermore, there is evidence from other countries that lowering the drinking age to 16 actually reduces alcohol consumption overall. I know from my own knowledge that In Germany, the legal drinking age for wine and beer is 16. Source 5 shows that in England, around 35% of 11 year olds have ever drank alcohol, this is compared to around 15% for Germany. Source 5 also shows that around 53% of 13 year olds have even drunk alcohol in England, compared to around 40% for Germany.
What is the negative to this solution?
It is very difficult to know whether it would work in the UK, as it is not something that you could survey or test on a specific set of individuals.
Conclusion (key points)
In conclusion my recommendation is that the Minimum Unit Pricing of alcohol should be increased to one Great British pound throughout the UK. The main reason for choosing this option is due to the clear evidence showing that when MUP gets introduced to a country, then the levels of drinking and in particular underage drinking decreases. The key reason I did not choose increasing education in schools on the dangers and impact of alcohol, especially on people under the age of around 25 is due to the fact that if the government was to increase the amount of education giving to children in school on alcohol then the health curriculum would have to be altered so that something else would be taught less, this would mean that there would be a lack of education in another important area which could lead to the same type of issue that there is in underage drinking, just in another key area of health. The key reason I did not choose reducing the legal drinking age to 16 is due to the fact that although this would hugely impact the number of underage drinkers, decreasing it, however this would be mainly due to the fact that people between the ages of 17 and 18 would still be drinking, possibly even more, but it would not be classed as underage drinking anymore due to it being legal. However, there would still most likely be the same, if not more, people that are drinking before the time that their brain’s are fully developed, or at least before the time that they are an adult. My recommendation would also have an immediate impact when it were to be introduced due to the prices of alcohol being able to change overnight, however my second option would take longer to take place as the government would have to figure out how to change the curriculum. Therefore, increasing and introducing the Minimum Unit Pricing of alcohol to one Great British Pound throughout the UK is my main recommendation.
Evaluation of source ? and what good/bad?
Source 3 - Date
- Sample size (48)
- respondents under 18 (83%)
Evaluation of source ? and what good/bad?
Source 4 - Date
- Public Health Scotland is a public agency, which means the information will have been prepared by health professionals with a good understanding of the causes and impact of underage drinking
