Alcohol minimum unit pricing inquiry

On 19 January 2018, the implications of alcohol Minimum Unit Pricing (“MUP”) were considered by the House of Commons Health and Home Affairs Committees with charities, academics, professional bodies and industry. The session can be viewed on parliamentlive.tv here.

The purpose of the session was to:

  • assess the case for introducing an MUP on alcohol in England in the light of developments since the Health Committee’s report in 2012 on the Government’s Alcohol Strategy and
  • cover a range of issues, including:
    • the potential impact a MUP could have on health, healthcare and the criminal justice system
    • any cross border implications posed by decisions of the UK, Scottish and Welsh governments.

Witnesses giving oral evidence were as follows:

At 2.15pm – Panel 1

  • Rosanna O’Connor, Director of Tobacco, Drugs and Alcohol, Public Health England
  • Sgt Mick Urwin, Durham Constabulary’s Harm Reduction Unit and Co-Chair of the National Police Chiefs Council Licensing Sub-group
  • Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, Chair, Alcohol Health Alliance
  • Professor Amandine Garde, Director of Law and NCD Unit, School of Law and Social Justice, University of Liverpool
  • Professor Nick Sheron, Academic Clinical Alcohol Advisor, Public Health England

At 3.15pm – Panel 2

  •  Miles Beale, Chief Executive, Wine and Spirits Trade Association
  •  Brigid Simmonds OBE, Chief Executive, British Beer and Pub Association
  • Kate Smith, Senior Economist, Institute for Fiscal Studies

Update: The House of Commons Library published a briefing paper on MUP on 9 February 2018, that can be downloaded below.

 

 

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