Consultation launched on raising minimum alcohol price in Wales

The Welsh Government has launched a consultation on Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) for alcohol in Wales, which will consider maintaining the policy beyond March 2026 and also raising the unit price from 50p to 65p.

The government suggests that the number of harmful drinkers could be reduced by nearly 5,000 people if the increase was implemented.

‘Harmful drinkers’

The policy, which came into force in Wales in March 2020, aims to tackle alcohol-related harm by reducing alcohol consumption in ‘hazardous and harmful drinkers’.

Minimum Unit Pricing is targeted at high-strength drinks sold at very low prices and drunk in large volumes.

Modeling data suggests raising the MUP to 65p per unit could further reduce harmful alcohol consumption, as well as encourage more people to drink at moderate levels instead.

It could also lower the number of hazardous drinkers by more than 6,300 and harmful drinkers by nearly 5,000, reducing hospital admissions and deaths attributed to alcohol.

Drinking large quantities of high-strength alcoholic drinks puts people at long-term risk of cancer, stroke, heart disease, liver disease and brain damage.

Minimum pricing for alcohol is designed to work in combination with a wide range of health policies in the substance misuse sector, targeted towards prevention, support and recovery and tackling availability.

‘Positive impact’

Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing Sarah Murphy said : “Since we brought minimum unit pricing into place there has been a pandemic, a cost-of-living crisis and high inflation.

“Despite all of these, research through independent evaluations has shown the policy, which is not a tax, has had a positive impact and has helped reduce levels of harmful drinking.

“We’re consulting on raising the level as high inflation has made the 50p rate ineffective and reduced its value in real terms to 39p in 2020 prices.

“Due to this it is no longer significantly influencing the price of the cheapest alcohol and we need to review it.”

The consultation launched earlier this week and is open until September 29.