Hansard

Good morning, convener and colleagues. I am pleased to be in front of the committee today to discuss minimum unit pricing and the two draft orders that were laid on 19 February. The Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012 (Continuation) Order 2024 seeks to continue the effect of the minimum unit pricing provisions beyond the initial six-year period, while the Alcohol (Minimum Price per Unit) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2024 seeks to change the level from 50p per unit to 65p per unit. Scotland is facing a growing burden of disease over the next 20 years. Non-communicable diseases are the leading cause of death and ill health in Scotland, and alcohol is one of the key contributors in that respect. Committee members will know that, in September 2023, the Scottish Government published its report on the effect of minimum unit pricing in its first five years of operation. That report drew heavily on the studies included in Public Health Scotland’s comprehensive evaluation of the policy, which was commended by internationally renowned public health experts, including Professor Sir Michael Marmot and Professor Sally Casswell. Public Health Scotland estimated that, over the study period, minimum unit pricing reduced alcohol-attributable deaths by 13.4 per cent—or 156 people a year—and was likely to have reduced hospital admissions that were wholly attributable to alcohol by 4.1 per cent, compared with what would have happened had minimum unit pricing not been in place. Alongside consideration of the impact of minimum unit pricing, the Scottish Government undertook a review of the price per unit. The decision to lay regulations increasing the price per unit to 65p is underpinned by modelling carried out by the University of Sheffield. Its research suggests that, to maintain the value of the price per unit and, therefore, to continue to achieve the public health benefits at a level estimated by Public Health Scotland in the evaluation, the minimum unit price should be increased to at least 60p. However, it is clear that Scotland is continuing to experience significant levels of alcohol harm, and as a result, the Scottish Government is proposing to increase the price per unit to 65p in order to further increase our policy’s public health benefits. I expect—and the University of Sheffield’s modelling predicts—that implementing the increase will save additional lives. I know that some people do not agree with minimum unit pricing, but we have considered their concerns in reaching our position. At round-table meetings that were held in 2023, many business stakeholders told us that implementing any price change quickly might be difficult. That was echoed by the regulatory review group, which recommended that a six-month implementation period would be necessary to allow business to prepare for a price increase. I am pleased to say that we have listened and, should Parliament agree to increase the minimum unit price, it will be implemented from 30 September 2024. I am clear that minimum unit pricing is a vital part of the Scottish Government’s approach to tackling alcohol-related harm. However, it is not a silver bullet; no single intervention on issues as complex as alcohol harm would be. For a start, according to some findings in the Public Health Scotland evaluation, it was clear that some who were alcohol dependent had experienced additional challenges linked to the price of alcohol increasing. I know that specialist support and treatment are vital for those people, so, to that end, the Scottish Government has provided record funding of £112 million this year for Scotland’s alcohol and drug partnerships. That funding supports the critical delivery of services to those affected by alcohol dependency, including outreach, psychosocial counselling, in-patient and community alcohol detox, access to medication, alcohol brief interventions, alcohol hospital liaison and alcohol-related cognitive testing. In addition, residential rehabilitation offers programmes that aim to support individuals to attain an alcohol or drug-free lifestyle. Public Health Scotland’s most recent interim report, which was published in December last year, showed that, of the 386 ADP-approved residential rehab placements, almost half—48 per cent—were for people with problematic alcohol use and 20 per cent were for people with both alcohol and drug issues. Moreover, in 2023-24, the Government provided £13 million in funding through the Corra Foundation in support of a range of projects helping those with substance addiction issues, including alcohol dependency, into treatment and recovery. Minimum unit pricing is an important part of our approach to reducing alcohol harm and improving the health and wellbeing of our population. The decision to continue minimum unit pricing and to increase the price per unit to 65p will show that Scotland continues to be world leading in our policies to improve the health of people in Scotland. That position was recently supported by more than 80 third sector organisations, senior clinicians and leading public health academics from Scotland, the rest of the United Kingdom and further afield. Convener, I look forward to discussing the issue further with you this morning, and I welcome questions from you and your colleagues.