The campaign to force retailers to charge a minimum price for alcohol is snowballing as more local authorities back an initiative spearheaded in Greater Manchester, according to Independent Retail News.
The Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (Agma) is pressing to create a by-law that will make it illegal to sell alcohol for less than 50p per unit. That could mean a minimum retail price of around £6 for a six-pack of lager and £4.50 for a 12% alcohol by volume bottle of wine.
A growing number of authorities including Merseyside, Warrington and Cheshire East are considering a similar approach to limit the problems caused by anti-social drinking. The campaign has spread further afield with Middlesbrough Council looking to adopt the 50p a unit strategy as part of its draft licensing policy, which still has to be approved.
Gavin Partington, spokesman for the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, which represents producers, traders and retailers, admitted there was concern over the growing bandwagon for action on pricing.
“One of the reasons this campaign is spreading is because of lobbying by organisations set up by the NHS. Having lost the battle over minimum pricing at central government level, the NHS is funding regional lobbying efforts to try and create local support for minimum pricing.
“Some local authorities have indicated their support but the driving force is local campaigning by health organisations.
“We live in a world where people can drive down the road and do their shopping in another council area. Therefore, any action around pricing should be implemented at a national level to be workable and effective. It would also be chaotic for business to have a pricing mechanic operated locally,” he said.
James Lowman, chief executive of The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS), said: “There is certainly a move to make this happen from a number of health professionals. There is a bandwagon building among the health promotion community who see an opportunity to impose this through local licensing policy reviews.
“We think the worst of all worlds would be minimum pricing introduced at a local level. It would cause absolute chaos for businesses which operate nationally and is a very blunt instrument to tackle a difficult social problem,” said Lowman.
Prime Minister David Cameron has indicated he supports the idea of councils taking action locally but this approach would need to be approved by the Government, which is currently considering the issue of below-cost alcohol selling rather than minimum pricing on a national scale.
