Balance response to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee’s consultation on the Public Health (Minimum Price for Alcohol) (Wales) Bill
Balance welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee’s consultation on the Public Health (Minimum Price for Alcohol) (Wales) Bill.
Balance is currently commissioned by 11 local authorities in the North East of England to deliver an evidence-based, population wide approach to alcohol harm reduction and in this context, Balance works with a range of partners to tackle alcohol-related issues. For more information visit www.balancenortheast.co.uk
1. Introduction
Balance believes that the introduction of a minimum unit price (MUP) for alcohol in Wales would be highly beneficial and would make a substantial contribution to reducing levels of alcohol consumption and its associated harms.
Consumption per drinker has doubled in the UK since the 1950s. There is no single solution to tackling alcohol-related harm and Balance feels that we need a package of measures to limit the affordability, availability and promotion of alcohol. However, independent evidence tells us that getting rid of the cheapest, strongest alcohol would have the most impact as it is typically consumed by young people and those drinking at harmful levels.
There is a large and significant body of international evidence which demonstrates that the price and affordability of alcohol is the key factor in driving consumption. In the 2009 Global Strategy, the World Health Organisation recommends introducing pricing policies to reduce alcohol-related harm and recognises the option to ‘‘establish minimum prices for alcohol where applicable’’ as an appropriate action.
Furthermore, Minimum Unit Price is already working in several countries, including Canada. Figures from British Columbia indicate that a 10% increase in average minimum price would result in a fall in consumption of 8%[i]; a 9% reduction in alcohol specific hospital admissions[ii]; a 32% reduction in wholly alcohol caused deaths[iii]; and a 10% fall in violent crime.[iv]
From a North-East perspective, the cheapest, strongest alcohol is responsible for some of the greatest problems in our local communities. Although more affluent groups of the population tend to drink at higher levels, the people in our most deprived communities suffer from the worst alcohol-related harms - harmful drinkers on the lowest incomes spend on average almost £2700 a year on alcohol, with 41% of the alcohol they consume purchased for less than 45 pence per unit.[1] These are the people who end up in hospital time and time again and die prematurely, whilst their families pay the price of cheap alcohol.
Taking all of this into account, Balance firmly welcomes the Welsh Government’s commitment to introduce minimum unit pricing as an effective and evidence-based measure to reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm. More specific comments in relation to the general principles of the Bill, barriers to implementation and any unintended consequences are below.
2. The general principles of the Bill and the extent to which it will contribute to improving and protecting the health and well-being of the population of Wales.
2.1 As noted above, there is a wealth of evidence to demonstrate that minimum unit pricing (MUP) is the single most targeted and effective intervention aimed at reducing alcohol-related harm, and there are strong indications that its introduction would significantly improve the health and well-being of people across Wales, whilst reducing a range of alcohol-related harms, such as alcohol fuelled crime and disorder. Introducing MUP at this time would be particularly important, given the recent announcement by the Welsh government that alcohol-related deaths in Wales increased by 9% in 2016 compared to 2015.[2]
2.2 Balance believes that it is important to reiterate the findings of research carried out by Sheffield University, on behalf of the Welsh government, which estimated the impact of minimum unit pricing in Wales from a health perspective. This indicated that once the full effects of MUP were in place, the policy would lead to approximately:
- 53 fewer deaths a year
- 1,400 fewer hospital admissions a year
- £131 million a year saved in healthcare costs
- £882 million in savings to society overall each year
2.3 Minimum unit pricing can also act as an extremely effective population measure, helping to reduce overall levels of consumption. Where MUP is particularly effective is at protecting the most vulnerable groups, as it reduces the amount of alcohol drunk by harmful drinkers who buy most of the cheap high strength alcohol. Survey evidence from Scotland shows that 30% of the population drink over 80% of the alcohol and it is this group which minimum unit pricing will target. As a result, moderate drinkers will experience a very small impact with costs expected to rise by only £8 per year with the proposed 50 pence per unit minimum price[3].
3. Any potential barriers to the implementation of the provisions and whether the Bill takes account of them
3.1 Balance believes that it is worth acknowledging that local authorities will be affected by an obligation to monitor compliance under the new legislation and to act against businesses which fail to comply. Local authority budgets are coming under increasing pressure from budget cuts, and the effectiveness of legislation could be undermined by an authority’s ability to devote sufficient resources to monitoring and enforcing the legislation.
However, we feel that it is difficult to predict the potential costs to local authorities, or the possible extent of non-compliance. There may also be longer term savings for local authorities from the introduction of MUP, in terms of a reduction in the burden on services which respond to alcohol misuse, such as street cleaning services and anti-social behavior units. For example, Balance estimates that alcohol impacts on social services costs in the North East to the tune of £121m a year. Similarly, the alcohol harm costs the wider North East economy a further £353m a year. As drinking patterns in Wales and our region are similar, it is to be expected that the costs of harm will also be similar and that the introduction of MUP would reduce those