MS, Minister for Mental
Health and Wellbeing: The Public Health (Minimum Price for
Alcohol) (Wales) Act 2018 and subsequent regulations to set and
introduce a 50p minimum unit price for alcohol came into force on
2 March 2020, immediately before the start of the pandemic.
Minimum unit pricing targets the sale of alcohol at very low
prices, which is drunk in large volumes and can put people at
long-term risk of cancer, stroke, heart disease, liver disease
and brain damage. It is intended to help tackle alcohol-related
harm by reducing the amount of alcohol consumed by hazardous and
harmful drinkers and is targeted towards protecting the health of
hazardous and harmful drinkers who tend to consume greater
quantities of low-cost and high-alcohol content products.
Under the terms of the 2018 Act, the Welsh Government must
provide a report on the operation and effect of the legislation.
In preparing this report, we consulted the Senedd and other
stakeholders through a 12-week consultation; survey research was
undertaken by Public Health Wales and the Senedd's Health and
Social Care Committee undertook a call for evidence. The
committee's Minimum unit pricing for alcohol
in Wales report was published at the end of June. The
findings from the independent Welsh Government evaluations
of the Act, which were published in January, were also
considered.
The operation and effect report is available at Operation and Effect minimum
pricing alcohol provisions 2020-2025 . It examines the
evidence about the operation and effect of minimum unit
pricing over the five-year period from March 2020 to the end of
February 2025. Several significant external factors have
influenced the conclusions, which can be drawn from the available
evidence. The introduction of the legislation coincided with the
start of the pandemic, which was followed by the cost-of-living
crisis – a period marked by persistently high inflation. These
factors introduced significant complexity to the evaluation
process and have likely influenced people's attitudes towards
alcohol, its price, and patterns of purchasing and consumption.
Despite these challenges, the independent evaluations concluded
the evidence suggests a generally positive finding for the
implementation of minimum unit pricing, although some limitations
and challenges remain. The evidence presents a broadly positive
picture of minimum pricing for alcohol as a policy measure,
particularly in terms of its implementation in Wales.
The 12-week consultation gave stakeholders from the health,
retail and third sectors an opportunity to consider their own
experiences of minimum unit pricing – as did the Senedd's
Health and Social Care Committee's call for evidence. The
feedback largely supported the independent evaluations' findings.
Welsh Ministers have reviewed all the evidence presented in the
operation and effect report and consider that the evidence
suggests minimum pricing for alcohol has contributed towards its
intended policy objectives. Overall, the operation and effect of
minimum unit pricing has been broadly positive.
There is evidence to suggest that the effectiveness
of minimum unit pricing as a policy may be influenced by the
price per unit at which the minimum unit price (MUP) is set.
As such, any consideration of the future of the policy, including
whether it should continue, will need to take account of the
level at which the MUP is set. To support this, we have
commissioned the Sheffield Addictions Research
Group at the University of Sheffield, to examine this issue.
Its findings, together with the evidence in the operation and
effect report, will help inform the development of a proposal
about the future of the minimum unit
pricing provisions, which will be subject to a further
public consultation. I will provide a further update to Members
about this process.
Minimum pricing for alcohol is one of a wide range of health
policies adopted by the Welsh Government to help tackle
inequality and improve health outcomes. It is not designed to
work in isolation, and we will continue to support our broad work
in the substance misuse area, targeted towards prevention,
support and recovery and tackling availability.
