Minimum drink price set for vote

Acommittee of MSPs has backed an increase to the minimum unit price of alcohol as a minister urged councils to spend central funding on addiction services.

The change will see the floor price rise from 50p to 65p from September 30.

At a meeting of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee yesterday, eight MSPs voted in favour and the two Tory members voted against. The increase will now be put before the chamber.

Opponents have questioned data on the impact of the policy, with alcohol-related deaths in 2022 at the highest level since 2008, but Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy Christina McKelvie stressed the move should not be treated as a “silver bullet”.

“No single intervention in issues as complex as alcohol harm would be,” she said.

“From some findings in the Public Health Scotland (PHS) evaluation, it was clear that some people who were alcohol dependent had experienced additional challenges linked to the price of alcohol increasing.

“I know that specialist support and treatment is vital for these people.”

The Scottish Government has provided “record” funding for alcohol and drug partnerships (ADPs) of £112 million, she said, adding that she expects the money to be spent on addiction services.

“I’m absolutely clear that the budget we have provided for ADPs this year gets spent on ADPs,” Ms McKelvie said.

The increase may also become a regular feature of minimum unit pricing (MUP), according to the minister, who said officials in her department were at the early stages of considering an annual increase to the rate which would be linked to an inflationary index.

Speaking against the move, Scottish Tory health spokesman Sandesh Gulhane said: “Whilst the minister has spoken many times to say this is not the silver bullet and there’s lots of other things that need to be done, the facts are that nothing else is being done – this is the government’s silver bullet.”

Dr Alastair MacGilchrist, chairman of Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems, welcomed the news, saying MUP has “been shown to save lives”.

“The overwhelming consensus is that MUP is a vital tool to tackle the harms and deaths caused by alcohol in Scotland on a daily basis,” he added.

ALCOHOL: The rise in MUP from 50p to 65p will be debated by MSPs.