Plans to put minimum price on alcohol put Wales at odds with Lords committee, says expert

The Welsh government published the Public Health (Minimum Price for Alcohol) (Wales) Bill saying a minimum price for alcohol could contribute significantly to the Welsh economy, save the Welsh NHS money and result in fewer deaths caused by alcohol abuse. 

The proposed legislation does not set a minimum unit price (MUP). Instead this would be specified later in regulations. 

The bill proposes a formula calculating the applicable minimum price for alcohol using the percentage strength of the alcohol, its volume and the MUP. Wales would also establish a local authority-led enforcement regime with powers of entry, powers to bring prosecutions for offences and to issue fixed penalty notices. 

The Welsh plans follow similar legislation introduced in Scotland in May 2012. Scotland set a MUP of £0.50 the following year, but the application of its rules has been delayed by a legal challenge brought by the Scotch Whiskey Association (SWA).

The challenge has gone through a series of stages with the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) issuing a ruling in December 2015. The CJEU referred the case back to the Scottish courts, which upheld the Scottish government's case. The SWA appealed to the Supreme Court and the case was heard there in July.

Earlier this year a House of Lords committee set up to scrutinise the operation of the 2003 Licensing Act in England and Wales recommended that MUP be introduced in England and Wales only if the measure is introduced in Scotland and subsequently assessed as being successful in improving public health.

Licensing expert Christopher Rees-Gay of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said the fact that the Supreme Court's judgment, and the introduction of MUP in Scotland, were still awaited meant the Welsh government announcement put it “at odds” with the Lords committee.

“The Lords also urge the government to look at other ways in which taxation and pricing can be used to control excessive consumption. It is my view that if there is evidence that the introduction of MUP will address the issues of concern in relation to excessive drinking, it is at this stage that these measures should be adopted,” Rees-Gay said.

“As with MUP in Scotland, it is highly likely that any move to implement this will lead to a legal challenge from the industry,” Rees-Gay said.