There are less than 3 weeks left to respond to the Government's consultation on Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) and other measures set out in the strategy. See here for the online response form. A selection of MUP reaction and news is highlighted below.
Alcohol Research UK have said they support the Government MUP proposals but warn of cross-border purchasing if a 45 pence MUP is adopted in England and a 50 pence MUP in Scotland. Alcohol Concern are calling for a 50 pence MUP, though only a 45 pence option is proposed in the consultation.
In Scotland a legal challenge against the SNP's minimum pricing is underway, headed by the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA). The SWA says MUP would be “in breach of the UK’s European Union Treaty obligations as it would restrain trade”. However there is much uncertainty over the legal position, with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) previously stating that in its view "UK competition law does not prevent legislation to set a statutory minimum price for alcohol".
The Information Daily recently published a feature 'Minimum pricing is not what it seems' which seeks to dispel public mis-conceptions about how MUP would be expected to work. It followed an earlier anti-MUP piece by the Wine and Trade Spirit Association claiming it would hit 'responsible consumers'.
David Cameron last month claimed that responsible families are “actually subsidising the binge drinker” because supermarkets increase the price of food to fund loss-leading on wine, beer and cider. Supermarkets have previously been accused of such strategies but the British Retail Consortium said the remarks were “nonsense”.
MUP plans were reportedly under threat due to opposition from a number of Cabinet members, the Telegraph also reported last month. It claims an alliance of senior Ministers, including the current Home Secretary who is responsible for the strategy, are opposed to MUP.
The boss of the pub and brewer giant Greene King has backed minimum pricing citing home drinking as a driver for binge drinking. However in a Telegraph report Carlsberg chief executive Jorgen Buhl Rasmussen said he is strongly against MUP.
Meanwhile Newcastle City Council have applied a novel but controversial local 'minimum pricing' approach to two bars in the city centre. A press release states the £1.25 minimum price has been "agreed as a license condition in order to maintain standards and to keep the street as the city’s premier street". A Morning Advertiser piece suggest the move is legally "questionable".
See below for other key MUP reports and research:
- University of Sheffield modelling on pricing impacts for England and Scotland
- Home Office report on The likely impacts of increasing alcohol price: a summary review of the evidence base [pdf]
- Could minimum pricing "backfire" as claimed?
- A SABMiller commissioned report by the CEBR outlining arguments against minimum pricing
- An Alcohol Insight into 'The Cost of Alcohol: The Advocacy for a Minimum Price per Unit in the UK'
- SNP pages on minimum pricing and the Scottish Alcohol Bill.
- An interim report on Manchester's proposed local minimum pricing
- BMJ report urging a VAT reduction for the on-trade
- Aberdeen University research arguing minum pricing does not target lower income groups
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