Drunk people who get arrested or need treatment in accident and emergency units should be charged to compensate the taxpayer, Nick Clegg has said.
Mr Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, said he supported the idea of imposing levies on people who get “blind drunk” and end up in hospital or at a police station.
Experts have estimated that around 2 million visits are made to A&E every year for alcohol-related illnesses and injuries.
Speaking during his weekly Call Clegg programme on LBC Radio the Deputy Prime Minister admitted it would be “tricky” to implement the fines but that he has “quite a lot of sympathy with the basic principle”.
“I’ve actually got quite a lot of sympathy with the basic principle that says why should someone that goes out and gets completely blind drunk, behaves appallingly, gets themselves into trouble and a scrap - why should other people always have to pick up the tab to help them out?” Mr Clegg said.
He said it was unacceptable for the taxpayer to continue to pick up the bill for the National Health Service to treat patients whose injuries were caused as a result of excess alcohol.
Mr Clegg said that many town centres across the country have become “no-go areas” on weekend nights.
The government has already imposed new rules allowing police and councils to charge nightclubs and pubs a fee for the cost of policing town centres.
Mr Clegg added: “It’s quite difficult to do it but I actually think the principle you’re talking about is a not entirely bad one.
“Some-one who wilfully through their own actions basically creates a lot of trouble and hassle for the NHS which everyone else has to pay for, at some point you might want to say to them maybe not on the first occasion but… I don’t have the how but I do understand the why.”
In 2002 there were just 926 admissions per 100,000 people for conditions caused by alcohol. By 2011 that had more than doubled to 1,898.
Under powers introduced by the Home Office last year, local authorities are able to impose an annual “late night” levy of up to £4,440 on pubs and clubs that open after midnight.
It is to ensure venues contribute to the costs of tackling drink-related violence and disorder which stems from extended drinking.
The move was one of a series of measures brought in to end Labour’s 24-hour licensing regime.
Mr Clegg said it was correct that pub landlords should be required to “cough up in order to deal with the problems they create”.
He added: “The rules have changed so that local authorities can get nightclubs and pubs and others where there is evidence that they are systematically turning a blind eye to the problem that they are creating, that they have to chip in as well, for instance to shoulder some of the policing costs.
“That was something that I was very supportive of. You know what it’s like, there are parts of our towns and cities where frankly it can be a bit of a no-go area on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night.
“And I don’t see why people who create some of that problem shouldn’t shoulder some of the costs for dealing with the problems that they partly create.”
The government has already imposed new rules allowing police and councils to charge nightclubs and pubs a fee for the cost of policing town centres.
Mr Clegg added: “It’s quite difficult to do it but I actually think the principle you’re talking about is a not entirely bad one.
“Some-one who wilfully through their own actions basically creates a lot of trouble and hassle for the NHS which everyone else has to pay for, at some point you might want to say to them maybe not on the first occasion but… I don’t have the how but I do understand the why.”
In 2002 there were just 926 admissions per 100,000 people for conditions caused by alcohol. By 2011 that had more than doubled to 1,898.
Under powers introduced by the Home Office last year, local authorities are able to impose an annual “late night” levy of up to £4,440 on pubs and clubs that open after midnight.
It is to ensure venues contribute to the costs of tackling drink-related violence and disorder which stems from extended drinking.
The move was one of a series of measures brought in to end Labour’s 24-hour licensing regime.
Mr Clegg said it was correct that pub landlords should be required to “cough up in order to deal with the problems they create”.
He added: “The rules have changed so that local authorities can get nightclubs and pubs and others where there is evidence that they are systematically turning a blind eye to the problem that they are creating, that they have to chip in as well, for instance to shoulder some of the policing costs.
“That was something that I was very supportive of. You know what it’s like, there are parts of our towns and cities where frankly it can be a bit of a no-go area on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night.
“And I don’t see why people who create some of that problem shouldn’t shoulder some of the costs for dealing with the problems that they partly create.”
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