Alcohol Education and Research Council

Established in 1982 the Alcohol Education and Research Council is a QUANGO dedicated to research and education on issues related to alcohol. Members of the council come from a range of backgrounds primarily concerned with the treatment of alcohol related problems, although three of the fourteen council members are drawn from the alcohol industry. The Brewers Licensed Retailers Association (formerly the Brewer's Society), The Wines and Spirits Association and The Scotch Whisky Association nominate representatives.

History

The history of the AERC is complex. In the 1890's the UK government, on the basis of statistics which upheld a link between the number of licensed premises within a particular area and instances of alcohol related disorder, decide to reduce the number of alcohol licenses issued over a seven year period.Local committees comprised of councillors and magistrates were enlisted in order to determine how many licences were needed and to reduce any additional licensed premises. Licensees who lost their right to trade in alcohol would be compensated from a fund to an amount equal to the difference any loss of license would make to the proprietor. The compensation was sourced from a levy imposed on successful licensees. Although it was intended to take only seven years it was not until the 1974 Erroll committee that the withdrawal of the compensation scheme was recommended. At this stage the committees had a total of £3 million in the compensation fund. This was to be liquidated (this finally happened in 1997 and amounted to £3118,599) and a decision on what to do with the money was taken by the Secretary of State after consultation with the alcohol industry. Several years of negotiation followed between the Home Office and the (then) Brewer’s Society before agreement was reached.

The decision on what to do with the money was finally settled in 1980, half of the funds would be used for alcohol education and research, a quarter was given to a trust for licensed trade charities, and the final quarter was given to those who had a stake in the properties which had contributed to the original fund.

The fund is managed by Baillie Gifford of Edinburgh, and the council claims to have invested wisely and is grateful to the financial expertise of the drinks industry members. The value of the fund is now £10 million and it is estimated to generate an annual income of £500,000. The responsibility for monitoring the fund is vested in the Council's Finance and General Purposes Committee. ^[1]

Notes

1. ^ Alcohol Education and Research Council Web Site Origins of AERC