I want to speak briefly in support of the general principles of the proposed legislation. I do believe that the ill effects of excessive alcohol consumption are well documented and the effects on people's health and the ill health that results in is, again, well established and accepted. And of course it also impacts on the wider family, as well as the individual who drinks too much. There's a relationship with damage to the economy in terms of time lost from work and a lot of evidence that excessive alcohol results in violent crime, violence against women, and a considerable amount of other crime. So, anything that reduces abuse of alcohol I think is very valuable indeed.

I think there is a lot of evidence that price is closely related to consumption, and indeed over-consumption. So, I think the rationale behind this legislation is very strong indeed, Llywydd, in recognising that there's a problem with cheap, strong alcohol. And if we increase the price of that cheap, strong alcohol we will do something significant and important to address these problems and issues. As the Cabinet Secretary said, we are aware, all of us, that this isn't the single solution to the problems of over-consumption of alcohol in Wales. There's a range of approaches that will help us achieve the necessary progress, but this is a significant and important part of that. 

The only other thing I'd like to say, Llywydd, is that, as others have mentioned, obviously an important part of making necessary progress will be to ensure that we have the right support services available right across Wales to help people address their over-consumption of alcohol problems, given the focus that this legislation will bring to those issues. I'm very familiar with the work of Kaleidoscope, for example, and the Gwent drug and alcohol services, which I believe are very important and beneficial in my area, and I know there are other similar services right across Wales, along with a range of other more general approaches to our health sector. It will be very important that we ensure that those services are adequate to deal with what may well be an increased demand for the services if this legislation is, as I hope it will be, implemented. Again, I know the Cabinet Secretary is very much alive to those issues also.