Members of the Senedd today passed regulations to continue the
minimum pricing for alcohol policy and to increase the minimum
unit price from 50p to 65p, bringing it into line with the rate
in Scotland.
Minimum pricing for alcohol is designed to tackle alcohol-related
harm, including hospital admissions and deaths, by reducing
alcohol consumption among hazardous and harmful drinkers.
Independent research commissioned by the Welsh Government has
found that increasing the minimum unit price to 65p could prevent
more than 900 alcohol-related deaths over 20 years and reduce the
number of harmful drinkers by nearly 5,000.
Following the vote in the Senedd, Minister for Mental Health and
Wellbeing, , said:
Cheap, high-strength alcohol disproportionately affects hazardous
and harmful drinkers. The evidence is clear – minimum unit
pricing works.
We have today taken a decision which will save lives and help
protect many people from the harms caused by drinking too much
alcohol.
Alcohol Change UK's Director for Wales, Andrew Misell, welcomed
the policy continuation, saying:
Inflation has steadily eroded the impact of the minimum unit
price since it was introduced in 2020. This increase restores the
policy's effectiveness and ensures it can continue to reduce the
availability of the cheapest, strongest alcohol that causes the
most harm.
Minimum unit pricing was originally introduced in Wales in March
2020 when the Public Health (Minimum
Unit Price for Alcohol) (Wales) Act 2018 came into
force. The Act contained a sunset clause, which meant minimum
unit pricing would have ended on 1 March 2026, if the Senedd had
not voted to extend the policy.
The price change regulations will come into effect from 1 October
2026.
