Fraser: Scottish Government must ensure ban on below cost sales of alcohol applies in Scotland as well

Scottish Conservatives are calling on the SNP Government to ensure that the ban on below cost sales of alcohol that was set out in a recent a Treasury paper will apply in Scotland.

Below is the text of the letter Murdo Fraser MSP, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health & Wellbeing, has sent to the Cabinet Secretary for Health & Wellbeing.

Dear Nicola,

You will I am sure have seen HM Treasury's 'Review of Alcohol Taxation', which was published this week. The paper recommends the UK Government adopts a ban on the sale of alcohol below cost price. It also calls for the UK Government to look at ways of using the tax and duty system to tackle the problem of drink across the whole of the UK.

As you know Scottish Conservatives have been calling for these measures since the turn of the year as it is a much more effective way of tackling binge drinking than indiscriminate blanket minimum pricing.

Whilst tax and duty are reserved issues, there is scope for the Scottish Government to incorporate the ban on the sale of alcohol below cost price through a Legislative Consent Motion in the Scottish Parliament. I am writing to you to ask if you will consider pressing ahead with this plan at the earliest available opportunity.

We need innovative, workable solutions to tackle Scotland's drink problem and on areas where we all agree, immediate progress should be made. I look forward to hearing back from you

Yours

Murdo Fraser MSP

Scottish Conservative Deputy Leader and Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health & Wellbeing

Page 17 of HM Treasury's Review of Alcohol Taxation stated:

5.2 Alongside the HM Treasury review of taxation, the Home Office has been considering alcohol pricing. This work has considered wider evidence about how taxation and price influence public order and how the Government should meet its commitment to ban the below-cost selling of alcohol products. This is all linked to wider Home Office work on rebalancing the Licensing Act.

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