The MP for Brighton Pavilion has welcomed the Government's decision to introduce a minimum price of at least 40p per unit of alcohol in England and Wales in order to tackle the drinking culture.

Minimum pricing was one of a number of measures unveiled today as part of a new national alcohol strategy, which also proposes greater powers for local authorities to deal with binge drinking.

As a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Drug and Alcohol Harm Reduction, Caroline has campaigned for measures to target the availability of ultra low priced alcohol in supermarkets and off licenses which fuels binge drinking.

Last year she tabled an Early Day Motion (1) asking the Chancellor to consider minimum pricing and other options.

However, Caroline also expressed disappointment today that Ministers had not gone with the higher rate of 50p recommended by Alcohol Concern.

She also called on the Government to look again at the need to impose controls on the advertising of alcohol.

Caroline said:

"In Brighton and Hove alone, we face an annual bill of £100 million for dealing with the effects of alcohol, with an average of two deaths a week associated with alcohol, 66 ambulance call outs and 97 alcohol-related inpatient admissions to hospital (2).

"So I welcome the Government's proposal today for minimum pricing to target the ultra low priced alcohol in supermarkets and off licenses which fuels our harmful binge drinking culture.

"This will help prevent irresponsible retailers from offering heavy discounts on alcohol and also reduce the pressure on the licensed trade, helping to protect pubs in the city from closure.

"I'm also pleased that the Government has learned the lesson of local initiatives like those in Brighton and Hove which show how important it is to have powers to limit the spread of premises selling alcohol.

"The abolition of the vicinity test on licensing, which means anyone can input into a decision to grant or revoke an alcohol licence - not just those in immediate vicinity - is therefore a welcome move."

Having quizzed the Home Secretary in the House of Commons today on the Government's chosen unit rate and about controls on alcohol advertising, the Brighton MP added:

"While it's good news that the Government is finally getting its act together on an alcohol strategy, it's disappointing that mandatory rules on alcohol advertising were not included.

"And although a minimum price of 40p per unit is a good start, if we're to radically reduce the widespread health and social harms caused by alcohol, we need to see the Government considering a higher rate of 50p."

ENDS

Notes

1) Early day motion 2264: AFFORDABILITY AND AVAILABILITY OF ALCOHOL AND RELATED HARM

2) The Council's Big Alcohol Debate survey, which found more than a third of people were worried about the effect of alcohol in the city, while nearly 40% said they avoid parts of Brighton & Hove because of drunken behaviour. Just over 1300 people completed the Big Alcohol Debate survey, with thousands more taking part in the Big Alcohol Debate on social media and in schools.

Figures from Brighton and Hove City Council show that every week in the city there are on average:

• Two deaths associated with the impact of alcohol
• 66 ambulance call outs due to alcohol
• 97 alcohol-related inpatient admissions to hospital of Brighton and Hove adult residents
• 46 attendances at the A&E department related to alcohol