Alcohol: Pricing Debate

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Department: Home Office

Alcohol: Pricing

Lord Winston Excerpts
Monday 29th October 2012

(12 years, 1 month ago)

Lords Chamber
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Lord Taylor of Holbeach Portrait Lord Taylor of Holbeach
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The consultation is likely to cover both those elements—when I talk about discounts, I mean the multi-buy type of arrangement. That may well be included. The Scottish Government have already come forward with the 50p figure, but there could be different figures. We need to ensure that we are getting the maximum benefit without unnecessarily impeding the business of retailing alcohol, which is a perfectly legitimate one, or the pleasure that most people get from restrained consumption of alcohol.

Lord Winston Portrait Lord Winston
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My Lords, as a contributor from time to time to the BBC, I ask the Minister to recognise that occasionally the BBC withdraws programmes from iPlayer on the basis of just a single complaint, often not really related to the content of the programme. That may be important in the case of my noble friend Lady Bakewell.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach Portrait Lord Taylor of Holbeach
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I think I have made it clear that that does not, in my view, detract from the central thrust of the noble Baroness’s Question and, indeed, the programme: that excessive consumption of alcohol can be harmful and that we should take what measures we can to restrain it.