Minimum price for alcohol to be discussed in parliament

Supermarkets, health groups and Treasury officials are being invited to discuss the idea of minimum pricing for alcohol at a seminar in the House of Commons next week.

The All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group has organised the open session prompted by concern over the price of alcohol in the off-trade.

The group is hoping to "reach a consensus" among those attending the seminar next Wednesday (April 2).

It comes off the back of the harshest Budget for the trade in years, coupled with fears the off-trade will soak up the sharp rises in duty.

Speaking in Parliament last week, Beer Group chairman John Grogan MP urged the government to "stand up to the supermarkets, given that they are going down a specific road on alcohol duty."

He added: "The increase in excise duty over the next few years will accelerate closures of village pubs - we have reached more than 20 a week on some counts.

"The community pub will also decline, and that is where drinking is supervised and managed, and where people generally drink socially. Such decline could have bad implications for one of the industries that make one proud to be British."

Grogan said the idea of minimum pricing for alcohol, known as "reference pricing", was prevalent in Canada.

"In Canadian supermarkets, the minimum reference price of a bottle of beer is around 50p," he said.

Jeff Newton, the president of Canada's National Brewers, will be the guest speaker at next week's meeting.