A report on the impact of MUP in Wales has recommended raising the minimum price from 50p to 65p per unit – as the Scottish Government did last year – in order to ‘sustain the policy’s value and positive impacts’.
MUP came into force in Wales in 2020, after legislation was passed two years earlier.
While assessing the impact of MUP against the backdrop of ‘the pandemic, persistently high levels of inflation and the cost-of-living crisis’ had been challenging, said mental health minister Sarah Murphy in a written statement, evidence showed that the legislation had ‘had an impact on the sale of cheap, high-strength alcohol products, with prices increasing. This has resulted in customers purchasing less of this type of product and fewer retailers stocking them.’
A study by the National Centre for Social Research found that there had been a ‘statistically significant’ impact on the number of alcohol units purchased by households after MUP’s introduction. ‘Initially, there was a marked increase in alcohol purchases in Wales following its introduction, coinciding with the COVID-19 mitigation measures. However, this surge was smaller in Wales than in England, and subsequently alcohol purchasing declined more rapidly in Wales after the pandemic,’ it says.
However, interviews carried out for the National Survey for Wales and included in the government reports found that – as was the case after MUP was introduced in Scotland – some people were cutting back on food and other essentials to buy alcohol. ‘Yeah, we do skip things, skip food, skip paying bills,’ one service user said.
‘Despite price increases, drinkers were reported by service providers as continuing to find ways to afford alcohol through methods like buying in bulk, “shoplifting, sex working, stealing from family members and taking out loans” as well as cost-sharing amongst friends or begging,’ says Assessing the experiences and impact of minimum pricing for alcohol on service users and service providers: final report.
‘The only effect that minimum pricing has had is to make my drinking worse,’ another service user reported. ‘You look and you think, I can’t have my [white cider brand name], which fills you up dead quick and makes you too bloated to drink anymore. You have to end up switching to wine, which is all stronger. Then you think, “Whisky’s the same price”, and you end up with a bottle of whisky. Then once you start on the whisky you have a bottle a day, then you’re on two bottles a day.’
Written statement: independent evaluations of minimum unit pricing for alcohol available here
Review of the introduction of minimum pricing for alcohol in Wales: contribution analysis available here
An evaluation of effects on minimum unit pricing of alcohol available here
Assessing the experiences and impact of minimum pricing for alcohol on service users and service providers: final report available here
Assessing the impact of minimum unit pricing for alcohol on the wider population of drinkers available here