20th March 2009

There’s a vigorous debate at the moment about the real price of alcohol.  On the one hand there’s concern about cheap alcohol fuelling crime and disorder and on the other the future of pubs as part of our local community. The Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson certainly added fuel to the debate by saying there should be a maximum unit price for alcohol which would mean the price rising.  If the minimum unit price was 50p as Sir Liam suggests then the cheapest wine would cost around £4.50 and the age of cheap cans of lager would go.

To some extent this is an argument within the licensed trade with the on trade – pubs – blaming the off-trade including supermarkets for undercutting pubs but also for ‘preloading’, encouraging people to drink too much even before they go out for the night.  Wherever the fault lies the effect is stark with around a fifth of serious violence happening in or around pubs and clubs.

The licensed trade set up a voluntary code to try and tackle irresponsible sales and practises.  Unfortunately not only did the code have little effect, not all licences were even aware of its existence.  That’s why the Government is bringing forward a Mandatory Code coupled with conditions which can be applied by local licensing committees to crack down on irresponsible drink sales.  The Mandatory Code is likely to include promotions like ‘Drink all you can for £10’ where the intention is to encourage people to drink excessively rather than enjoy a responsible drink.

The evidence on minimum unit pricing is unclear.  It would require a big increase in prices before any real effect would be had.  Scotland is looking to go down this route this year but I believe rightly our government is being cautious.  We need to make sure, particularly in these tough economic times that we do not penalise people who work hard during the week and enjoy a responsible drink.

It’s more important to tackle the irresponsible promotions which fuel alcohol related disorder and increase the risk on peoples health, it’s also important to use the powers which exist to tackle irresponsible licenses and individuals who cannot behave when they’ve had a drink. 

The Government will be consulting publicly on the new code shortly.