‘Minimum alcohol unit price should be 50p’

PLANS to introduce a 50p minimum unit price for alcohol in Wales are progressing following a public consultation.

Welsh health minister Vaughan Gething has announced that the National Assembly would now be asked to approve the price.

It would mean that a can of cider would cost around £1, while a bottle of wine would be priced at about £5. A 50p minimum unit price for alcohol was implemented in Scotland in May last year.

Mr Gething said the minimum pricing formed part of a wider strategy to reduce substance misuse. “Following a public consultation, I’m pleased to confirm we will now ask the National Assembly for Wales to approve a 50p minimum unit price,” he said.

“We believe a 50p minimum unit price strikes a reasonable balance between the anticipated public health and social benefits and intervention in the market.

“We will continue to use all available levers to reduce the harms caused by the excessive consumption of alcohol as we develop and take forward a new delivery plan for substance misuse.”

There were 540 alcohol-related deaths in Wales in 2017 to 2018, with almost 55,000 alcohol-related hospital admissions.

Last year, the National Assembly supported minimum pricing by passing the Public Health (Minimum Price of Alcohol) (Wales) Bill.

This Act provides a formula for calculating the applicable minimum price for alcohol by multiplying the percentage strength of the alcohol, its volume and the minimum unit price.

A consultation took place on a preferred minimum unit price of 50p, with a summary of responses published on Friday.