Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Public Health England review of minimum unit pricing for alcohol is planned to be published; and what assessment he has made of the effect on public health of the time taken to implement a minimum unit pricing alcohol policy in England.

The United Kingdom Government is commissioning Public Health England to carry out a scientific review into the impact of minimum unit pricing (MUP) following its recent introduction in Scotland. The timing of outputs from the review is still under consideration. The previous Government’s consultation in 2013 found that the evidence as it stood at that time did not conclusively demonstrate that MUP would reduce problem drinking without also penalising responsible drinkers. That remains the case, and that is why the Government intends to keep this policy under review.