50p minimum unit price for alcohol set to go ahead

A 50p minimum unit price for alcohol in Wales is set to go ahead following a public consultation.

With the price of alcohol having increased significantly over the past two decades, Ministers have been clear about the need for pricing intervention to tackle alcohol misuse.

The National Assembly supported minimum pricing when the Public Health (Minimum Price for Alcohol) (Wales) Bill was passed last year.

The 2018 Act is targeted at protecting the health of hazardous and harmful drinkers who tend to consume greater amounts of low-cost and high-strength alcohol.

It provides a formula for calculating the applicable minimum price for alcohol by multiplying the percentage strength of the alcohol, its volume and the minimum unit price.

It allows the Welsh Government to target the sale and supply of low-cost and high-strength alcohol.

While Health Minister, Vaughan Gething, acknowledged the potential impact on household budgets and the risks of switching to other substances, he stressed the importance of tackling alcohol misuse.

The Welsh Government will now ask the National Assembly for Wales to approve the minimum unit price.