Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of research published in the Lancet showing that the estimated health benefits of minimum unit pricing of alcohol would benefit those from the lowest socioeconomic group.

Public Health England (PHE) published an evidence review The Public Health Burden of Alcohol and the Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness of Alcohol Control Policies: An evidence review in December 2016. A copy of the evidence review is attached. The research Effects of minimum unit pricing for alcohol on different income and socioeconomic groups: a modelling study published in the Lancet in 2014 was considered as part of this review. The PHE review concluded that reducing the affordability of alcohol is the most effective way of reducing alcohol harm, including hospital admissions and deaths, and targeted pricing measures are particularly effective at reducing harm in those groups most at risk. The review also found that targeting price increases at the cheapest alcohol is very effective and cost-effective and is able to substantially reduce harm in heavy drinkers without affecting moderate drinkers or the price of alcohol sold in pubs and bars.

Minimum Unit Pricing and its effects will continue to remain under review pending the impact of its implementation in Scotland, which will give us the opportunity to see whether the beneficial impacts predicted by modelling are realised in practice.