Justin Tomlinson
Main Page: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)Department Debates - View all Justin Tomlinson's debates with the Home Office
(11 years, 9 months ago)
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Mr Speaker
Order. These exchanges are still very highly charged, but the Minister is entitled to be heard and must not be shouted down.
Justin Tomlinson (North Swindon) (Con)
A member of my family is an alcoholic. Minimum unit pricing would not make one jot of difference, because 50p here or there would not break her addiction. Greater resources and co-ordination of support services are the priority; it is there that the industry and Government should be leading.
Mr Browne
I am very sorry to hear what my hon. Friend says. I think that it is important, amid all the party political knockabout, that we realise and respect the fact that this is a very serious issue for hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people across the country, and they want politicians to address it properly and with consideration. With regard to price sensitivity, there is good reason to believe that different people in different circumstances are more price responsive than others, which is why this is a harder issue to tackle than it might appear after cursory inspection. I accept his point that people who have become accustomed to drinking large quantities of alcohol as a matter of course might be less price sensitive than, for example, younger people who are looking to drink alcohol to excess for the first time. Of course, we need to take a range of different measures into account when trying to help people in those circumstances.