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Finance Bill

The hon. Gentleman makes a probing point. I am merely going on the figures used in the German Government's report. If he likes, I can print him off a copy and we can discuss it, but I have not yet converted the figures into units that he might find acceptable. The German experiment has been a great success, as has the Australian experiment on beer strength, and we should be looking at these options. Various observers have endorsed our approach to tackling problem drinks by increasing the tax rate and giving relief on drinks of a lower alcoholic strength. I want to mention a couple of problems with the SNP amendment. The SNP is in favour of minimum pricing. A noteworthy feature of its scheme is that spirits would be practically the only drinks not to face steep hikes in duty. In fact, its Justice Minister, Kenny MacAskill, confirmed that last week while touring a whisky distillery—exclusively for fact-finding purposes, I am sure. He said:""We are very clear that our plans for minimum pricing will not affect this important industry."" If whisky prices do not fall, that can only mean that beer, wine and cider prices will have to rise to compensate.