SNP could slap 25% price rise on booze
THE price of alcohol looks set to rise under plans by Ministers to tackle problem drinking.
The Scottish Government is preparing to review the 50p-a-unit minimum price amid fears many Scots have hit the bottle during the pandemic.
Wine, whisky and beer prices could rise by around 25 per cent a bottle.
The 50p level was set in 2012, before a lengthy court battle about the legality of the proposal, which the Scottish Government eventually won.
Inflation has risen steadily since then, and the equivalent price today would be around 62p per unit.
That would mean the cheapest bottle of wine rising to £6.20, a six-pack of lager costing at least £10.30, and a bottle of whisky starting at £24. Plans for a review were revealed in a response to a question at Holyrood before it rose for the election.
Last night, Alison Douglas, chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, said it ‘welcomes the commitment of the Scottish Government to review the minimum unit price’.
Ms Douglas added: ‘Increasing the price of alcohol is one of the most effective policy measures to reduce alcohol consumption and harm.
‘The early results of the evaluation show encouraging signs that the policy is having the intended effect of reducing alcohol consumption, but the impact of the current 50p rate is likely to have been eroded by inflation since the legislation was first approved in 2012. Now is the time to review the data, and recalibrate the price to ensure we maximise the benefits of this life-saving policy.’
Scottish Tory health spokesman Donald Cameron said: ‘We supported the introduction of minimum unit pricing, with the important caveat that it should be reviewed if it was proven to be ineffective.
‘The Scottish Government must ensure it will explore all the evidence to show the effects of this policy. It is imperative that the SNP use this review to ensure appropriate measures are in place that will ease any pressure on our NHS arising from irresponsible alcohol consumption.’
In the first lockdown, Scottish men bought the equivalent of an extra bottle of wine a week, compared with the same period the previous year.
Alcohol Focus Scotland found the heaviest drinkers consumed a lot more – which could mean serious health and addiction problems, currently hidden by the pandemic, will be exposed when the NHS and Scotland as a whole return to normal.
In parliament last week, Monica Lennon, Scottish Labour candidate for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, asked the Scottish Government ‘what plans it has to review the unit price of alcohol, in light of its commitment to do so after two years of implementation’.
Mairi Gougeon, Public Health Minister, replied: ‘Work to review the minimum unit price level was paused in order to respond to the urgent demands of handling the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. This has restarted in order to review the level in the course of this year.’
‘Now is the time to recalibrate the price’