MP: Gov plans on alcohol are not sufficient

An influential Labour MP has told a Home Office minister he's "disappointed" the Government has failed to push ahead with minimum pricing of alcohol.

Keith Vaz, former minister and chairman of the Home Affairs Committee, told a Westminster debate that current Government plans to reduce alcohol-related harm "are not sufficient".

The Home Affairs Committee backed minimum pricing and a crackdown on promotions in a report Policing in the 21st Century, released last year.

In a follow-up debate in Westminster, Vaz said: "we are disappointed that the Government have failed to take up our recommendations in a few key areas, notably around minimum pricing for alcohol."

Vaz criticised the Government's decision not to go for minimum pricing after the chief medical officer Liam Donaldson also recommended the move.

"The Policing and Crime Bill introduces some measures towards reducing alcohol-related harm — for example, it increases the maximum fine for consuming alcohol in a designated public place — but the Committee feels that they are not sufficient.

"We welcome what the Government have done so far, but we believe they need to go much further."

Liberal Democrat Chesterfield MP Paul Holmes accused the Government of "closing their eyes" to the problem of loss-leading alcohol in supermarkets. "It is much harder to control that problem than town centre pubs, because it is scattered across the community."

Home Office minister David Hanson said the Government's inaction on minimum pricing "does not mean that alcohol, including alcohol sales and alcohol-related crimes, is not important".

He referred to plans for the mandatory alcohol retailing code, which would force pubs to stick by new restrictions including limits on drinks promotions.

"I hope that there will be a solid debate about those issues and I am certain that we will discuss them in due course as we have done in the past.

"It is important that we recognise that we should not penalise the many people who drink responsibly. However, I am acutely aware of the fact that for young people, in some cases, and for many older people alcohol can be a driver of crime and poor behaviour."

The consultation into the mandatory code closes on 5 August.