Quality standard

This quality standard covers preventing and identifying alcohol problems in the community. It includes policy and practice approaches to prevent harmful alcohol use in adults, young people and children. It is particularly relevant to local authorities, the police, and schools and colleges. It describes high-quality care in priority areas for improvement.

It does not cover identifying and supporting adults and young people who may have an alcohol problem, which is covered by NICE’s quality standard on alcohol-use disorders: diagnosis and management.

How to use NICE quality standards and how we develop them

Quality standards help you improve the quality of care you provide or commission. They apply in England and Wales (see the UK government website and Welsh government website). Decisions on how they apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland are made by ministers in the Scottish government and Northern Ireland Executive.

Find out how to use quality standards and how we develop them. We check our quality standards every August to make sure they are up to date.