Corby Community Alcohol Partnership receives national award for tackling underage drinking

North Northants Council’s Safer Corby Team has received an award for their work in tackling underage drinking as part of the Corby Community Alcohol Partnership (CAP).

Corby CAP’s aim is to encourage partnership working across all sectors to reduce the levels of alcohol harm in local communities by young people under 25.

The Safer Corby Team was proud to have received the CAP Excellence in Education Award at an online event on earlier this year to launch CAP’s national annual report and highlight the resilience and determination of local communities to reduce alcohol harm among young people, improve their health and wellbeing and enhance their communities during the challenging times of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Presenting the award, Tom Pursglove MP for Corby & East Northants, said: “Corby CAP has an excellent working relationship with schools across the borough and prides itself on working collaboratively with partners to deliver quality education and engagement on this very important issue.

"When the pandemic hit, it quickly came up with an innovative programme to enable it to continue circulating educational messages and also to raise awareness of the risks of excessive drinking at home during ‘lockdown’ restrictions.

"It gives me great pleasure to present this award for excellence in education to Laura Shaw and Suzanne Preston of Corby CAP, who have, and continue to do, an amazing job - their efforts are genuinely making a difference to people in our community.”

Activities have been delivered throughout the town and surrounding area with the aim to drive down alcohol consumption in young people. These include alcohol awareness sessions for Years 5, 6, and 8 across primary and secondary schools, delivery of engagement with an interactive stall event supporting the national ‘Dry January’ campaign at Tresham College, and an innovative QR Code treasure hunt in two identified ‘alcohol hotspots' alongside a poster and bollard cover scheme circulated across local supermarket location and community greenspaces.

Key areas of activity are focused on education, enforcement and business engagement.

Cllr Andy Mercer, North Northants Council’s executive member for housing and community, said: "This is a fantastic achievement and demonstrates the quality and breadth of work being delivered by the Safer Corby Team and partners to help tackle this important community issue.

"We’d like to thank the Corby Neighbourhood Policing Team and Corby Pubwatch for their ongoing support and for nominating the Corby CAP in recognition of its achievements in educating the wider community on the impact of alcohol misuse."