Alcohol: Minimum Unit Price
Debate between Jeremy Browne and Glyn Davies(11 years, 8 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
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Mr Browne
Large numbers of health organisations have responded. The Under-Secretary of State for Health, the hon. Member for Broxtowe (Anna Soubry), who I am delighted to have here with me, has said that she will write to the hon. Gentleman specifically on who those organisations are, and I am sure that she will do that very speedily.
Glyn Davies (Montgomeryshire) (Con)
Does the Minister agree that the best way to deal with antisocial behaviour on the streets by drunks is strong action by the police and perhaps a few hours in the cells rather than piling extra tax on to responsible drinkers who are very often on low incomes?
Mr Browne
My hon. Friend makes an interesting point. In quite a lot of countries elsewhere in Europe, the price of alcohol is lower than it is here, or certainly low, and yet they do not have anything like the number of problems that we have in relation to antisocial behaviour linked to alcohol consumption. There is a role for the police, but there is a wider debate within society about how we consume alcohol and how we behave after we have consumed alcohol.