MUP for England?

It is reported in the Telegraph that more changes may be on the books of the new Labour Government.

This week it is in relation to Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) for alcohol. In England there is a minimum price requirement contained in the mandatory conditions endorsed upon all licences but this is geared to the cost of duty and VAT on a product. The leaks and off the record discussions now coming into the public domain seem to indicate a step closer to the pricing adopted in Scotland and Wales where each unit of alcohol is given a base price. e.g 65p in Scotland.

The discussions follow on from the desire to improve the health of the nation and the leaked proposals regarding where people can smoke outdoors.

Speculation is rife as to what may be under consideration but in the past Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, was believed to be “known to be pro” the policy. When he was in opposition, Mr Streeting said that the introduction of minimum pricing in Scotland made a “positive case” for the idea.

He told a Parliamentary debate in 2020: “We have already heard the positive case from Scotland, and there is an active campaign for it. It would be useful for all of us involved in policy making if the Treasury review looked at the merits and the arguments against so that Parliament can make informed decisions.”

When asked by the BBC last May whether he would introduce the policy, he said that in government he would look at “a range of measures”.

He said: “We want to make sure that we’re not just living longer but living more healthily for longer.

“And that does mean doing everything we can to tackle what are known as the social determinants of ill health as well as those factors that impact on things like chronic disease.”

However policy makers will have to look at all elements in balancing their decision making, many  people both operators and scientists claim the implementation of MUP in Scotland and Wales has done little to improve health and the 30% uplift recently announced for the unit price in Scotland has been criticised for its potential negative affect on inflation which is at last under control.