Written question asked by Lord Avebury (Liberal Democrat), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Darzi of Denham (Labour) on Thursday, 16 July 2009.

Alcohol

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their response to motion 599 passed at the British Medical Association conference supporting the introduction of a minimum price for a unit of alcohol; and what calculation they have made of the impact on hospital admissions and the annual saving to the National Health Service of a minimum alcohol unit price of 50p.

Answer: The Government acknowledge the recent motion by the British Medical Association. Government will look to develop further evidence in this area with a view to identifying proposals for actions, which reduce irresponsible, harmful and or binge drinking without impacting unduly on the majority of responsible drinkers. The department commissioned an independent review on the effects of alcohol pricing and promotion from the School of Health and Related Research at the University of Sheffield. The Part A report "Systematic review of the evidence" and Part B, "Modelling the potential impact of pricing and promotion policies for alcohol in England: Results from the Sheffield Alcohol Policy Model" were published in full in December 2008, and were placed in the Library.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 4855; 712 c246WA
Session: 2008-09
Related items: Deposited Paper DEP2009-1489
Wednesday, 20 May 2009
Deposited papers
House of Lords
Subjects: Alcoholic drinks Misuse Prices
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk