An edition of the Tyne Tees Television current affairs programme ‘Briefing’ that begins with a report on the alcoholism and the traditions of heavy drinking within the regions speaking with representatives of both the Health Education Council and North East Council on Alcoholism. In the second part of the programme an in studio discussion with ten new MP’s in the region asking then how they will be keeping their election promises. Includes in the group is the new Labour MP for Sedgefield Tony...

An edition of the Tyne Tees Television current affairs programme ‘Briefing’ that begins with a report on the alcoholism and the traditions of heavy drinking within the regions speaking with representatives of both the Health Education Council and North East Council on Alcoholism. In the second part of the programme an in studio discussion with ten new MP’s in the region asking then how they will be keeping their election promises. Includes in the group is the new Labour MP for Sedgefield Tony Blair. Title: Tyne Tees Title: Briefing In the Tyne Tees Television studio in Newcastle presenter Ian Breach introduces the programme beginning with a problem many in the region would like to ignore, alcoholism. A clip follows from a special television advertising campaign produced by the Health Education Council warning about the dangers of alcohol and featuring the botanist Dr David Bellamy. Extracts of the conclusions from a new working party report to the North East Council on Alcoholism about the region are shown. Title: A quarter of all acute male general hospital beds in the region are occupied by patients with alcohol-related illnesses Fifteen percent – one in seven – of the Northeast population has alcohol-related problems One man in twenty is physically dependent on drink A growing number of the problem drinkers are under the age of twenty-five Alcoholism seriously affects Northeast people at their place of work The average consumption of alcohol by men in the region is nearly four times higher than the average for the country as a whole Retuning to Ian Breach who says there is clearly a problem that need to be recognised and tackled, but how? Standing along the Newcastle Quayside with the Tyne Bridge in the background, reporter Kevin Rountree speaks with a man who doesn’t wish to be identified about how alcohol has ruined his life. Mea House in Newcastle where the offices of the North East Council on Alcoholism are based. Inside a woman takes a telephone call and offers information on what the centre can offer. A series of posters relating to alcoholism changes to a meeting of council staff to discuss the use of members from various agencies working for a new voluntary counselling service. A boarded-up property in the Rye Hill area of Newcastle which will be convert in a centre combining offices and treatment facilities. Inside Kevin Rountree speaks with Council Director Peter Rorstad about the Council on Alcoholism’s plans for the facility and the widening scope of the organisation within the Northeast. He also provides details of other uses for the building such as a community drying out centre as an alternative to police cells. In Middlesbrough Barry Trueman Director of the Cleveland and South Durham Area Council on Alcoholism talks about the tradition of heavy drinking in the area associated with heavy engineering. He is concerned about how mainly men, often young men, boast about their abilities to ‘hold their drink’. Back on Newcastle Quayside Kevin Rowntree continues to speak with the alcoholic who gives numbers of pints of beer he would drink in a day, sometimes up to fifteen. Back in Middlesbrough Barry Trueman explains that the pattern of drinking that would be considered heavy in some parts of the country, around Cleveland would be seen as normal. Returning to the Tyne Tees studio Ian Breach leads a discussion on the regions attitude to heavy drinking with Barbara Howe from the Northeast Council on Alcoholism, Dr Antony Thorley Consultant Psychiatrist and Michael Jacob from the Health Education Council. Ian Breach brings the discussion to a close and provides details of Briefing Politics which follows after the commercial break where he will be speak with ten local MP’s elected in the recent General Election about their promises to their electorate. Title Briefing Politics Ian Breach provides details on the recent General Election where the Tories won 13 out of thirty-eight seats in the region creating four new Conservative MP’s. Once again, voters failed to elect a single woman MP. Was the election about policies or personalities, it was about both as well as promises such as the following made by the new Labour MP for Sedgefield Tony Blair. Title: We’ll set up a Northern Development Agency to bring back industry to the job starved Northeast.” Over an image of Piers Merchant the new Conservative MP for Newcastle Central a quote from him that reads: Title: “We need to look to a brighter future to crate a dynamic North, fit for the 21st century’ Ian Breach speaks first with Dr Howard Elcock from Newcastle Polytechnic and Tom Taylor from Teesside Polytechnic about their predictions for the General Elections which featured in an earlier edition of Briefing. On the screen both their predictions alongside the actual results Turning to the ten new regional MP’s Ian Breach asks each what they will be doing for their constituents. Alongside Tony Blair and Piers Merchant are Michael Fallon Conservative MP for Darlington, Roland Boyes Labour MP for Houghton and Washington, Richard Holt Conservative MP for Langbaurgh, and Frank Cook Labour MP for Stockton North. Title Briefing Politics The discussion continues in the third part of the programme speaking first with Tony Blair about his election promises and the Northern Development Agency followed by Stuart Bell Labour MP for Middlesbrough, Jack Thompson Labour MP for Wansbeck, Bob Clay Labour MP for Sunderland North and Nick Brown Labour MP for Newcastle East. Ian Breach brings both the discussion and programme to an end looking forward to the next edition and a special film about the exciting work done in the regions universities and polytechnics in collaboration with Northeast industry. Credit: Presenter Ian Breach Reporter Kevin Rountree Film Camera Fred Crone Film Sound Ed Gray Film Editor Malcolm Haynes Research Lynne Petrie Political Editor John Sleight Director Paul Dickin Producer Bob Farnworth End title: Tyne Tees Colour. © Tyne Tees Television Ltd. MCMLXXXIII