Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:40 pm on 19 June 2018.
Diolch, Llywydd. I want to start by, again, thanking Members not just for contributions in the debate but for the scrutiny of the Bill as well. And, in understanding some of the concerns that Angela Burns has raised today, the tone of those concerns is different from the conversations we've had, but, to be fair, she has raised a number of concerns during the passage of the Bill, both in committee and around it as well. So, they're not new concerns, and I'm happy to acknowledge that.
There is something that we need to do in persuading Members that we're listening to what's happening, not just in getting a Bill passed on trust, but in then acting in that way afterwards. And that is why, as I said in my opening statement, we have an evaluation plan. We'll need to listen. We're happy to share information and work with the committee, which will continue to scrutinise what is happening, in addition to the sunset clause. Because I, of course, acknowledge this is a genuinely novel piece of legislation and we will want to be persuaded there is evidence it's made the real difference to the health of the country that we think it will do. But I don't accept the suggestion made that this is a rushed piece of legislation. We first consulted on this issue in 2014, and it's gone through proper and appropriate scrutiny during its time in the Assembly.
Of course, the Bill does place a duty on Ministers to take steps to promote awareness of the commencement of the legislation, and that includes promoting awareness of the health risks of excessive alcohol consumption and how this Bill and minimum unit pricing is intended to reduce that. That's why I was pleased to work with Rhun ap Iorwerth to bring forward amendments that we supported at Stage 3 to include those provisions in the Bill. And I also want to recognise that the commitment to minimum unit pricing has, of course, appeared in the last two Plaid Cymru manifestos.
But I want to end by re-emphasising that this legislation will not stand on its own. The legislation takes a targeted approach to a very real and evident problem in Wales today, and it will be supported by a range of additional action being taking forward to support those in need, in particular those areas that form part of the Welsh Government's wider substance misuse strategy, and I recognise the points made about how people, who we hope will seek help in larger numbers, need to be supported. But this Bill addresses the reality that Wales, like so many other western countries, has a problem with cheap, strong and readily available alcohol. This legislation is part of helping us to make an important contribution to addressing this issue and improving public health, and I ask Members to vote for it today.