Alcohol Strategy

Helen Goodman Excerpts

Friday 23rd March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

I thank my hon. Friend. I commend the landlady of The Bell Inn in Shepton Mallet for taking that responsible approach to the issue of alcohol. We certainly look forward to receiving responses to the consultation from people such as her constituent and others. There are responsible landlords out there who are running pubs in difficult circumstances. We know; we have all seen many pubs in communities closing. We want to ensure that those who drink responsibly and those who deal responsibly with their clients, as many landlords and landladies do, are able to carry on doing so, and that we hit that end of the market that is being fuelled by this very cheap alcohol, often sold by supermarkets.

[Helen Goodman (Bishop Auckland) (Lab)]

I went to talk to young people in the youth club in Spennymoor about exactly this issue. I believe that price does influence young people’s behaviour. What I do not understand is why the Government are having a consultation on this issue but did not have a consultation on the granny tax.

[Mrs May]

What we are announcing today is an alcohol strategy that will deal with the problems. It is interesting that no member of the Opposition has stood up and addressed the problems that were caused by Labour’s Licensing Act.