Churches condemn u-turn on alcohol pricing

The Government has broken its pledge to introduce aminimum unit price for alcohol. The Church of England, theMethodist Church, the United Reformed Church, the Salvation Armyand Quaker Action on Alcohol & Drugs are deeply disappointedthat the Government has abandoned this vital policy. Jeremy Browne,the Minister for Crime Prevention, has said minimum unit pricingwill remain 'under consideration'. But his claim that there is notenough 'concrete evidence' to implement it flies in the face offive years of medical research.

There were over 1.2 million alcohol-related hospitaladmissions in 2011-12 in England, and the cost to the NHS was £3.5billion. The total bill to the taxpayer caused by alcohol misuse,including crime and lost productivity, is currently £21billion. 

Research has shown that the main driver of problemdrinking in the United Kingdom is the increased availability ofcheap, strong alcohol. A minimum unit price of 50p could savearound 3,000 lives a year. Critics have expressed concerns that aminimum price would penalise ordinary drinkers, but on currentprices it would cost moderate drinkers 28p a week, with substantialbenefits to public health and reduced burdens on frontlineservices.

The Government has also refused to legislate on multibuysales, which encourage irresponsible selling and consumption ofalcohol. Instead it has reverted to its 2011 commitment to ban thebelow-cost sale of alcohol, defined as duty + VAT. Jeremy Brownehas said that under these rules a can of lager cannot be sold forless than 40p. Other prices for common drinks include a can ofcider for 21p, a bottle of wine for £2.40 and a litre of vodka for£12.70. But hardly any alcohol is this cheap at retail, so a ban onbelow-cost sales is unnecessary, and the limit far too low to makea real difference. This back down follows several years ofprevarication by successive Governments, which has resulted in aweak and inconsistent alcohol strategy.

James North, Policy Advisor for the Methodist Church,said: "The Government's failure to introduce minimum unit pricingfor alcohol will cost lives. As Churches we are deeply concerned atthe effect of alcohol misuse on problem drinkers, families andcommunities. With nearly 9000 deaths directly related to alcohol in2011, this is no time for inaction. We look forward to theGovernment rectifying this decision and putting public health backat the top of its agenda."

Churches will continue to work alongside medical expertsand health charities to campaign for minimum unit pricing as partof a range of measures aiming to address problem drinking in theUK.