Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'm happy to move the motion in my name today, and I'm pleased to open this debate that will, hopefully, approve the Public Health (Minimum Price for Alcohol) (Minimum Unit Price) (Wales) Regulations 2019. If the regulations are agreed by Members, a minimum unit price for alcohol of 50p will come into force from 2 March next year. 

As we know from the passage of the Bill, alcohol is a major cause of death and illness in Wales, and the introduction of a minimum unit price will make an important contribution in helping to tackle the health risks associated with excessive alcohol consumption. In 2018-19, there were nearly 60,000 alcohol-attributable hospital admissions, and, in 2018, there were 535 alcohol-related deaths. I think Members across this Chamber agree that we must take action to reduce those numbers. 

The intended effect of this legislation is to tackle alcohol-related harm, including alcohol-attributable hospital admissions and alcohol-related deaths in Wales, by reducing alcohol consumption in hazardous and harmful drinkers, who tend to consume greater quantities of low cost and high alcohol content products. So, its objective is clearly a targeted one. The aim is not to reduce alcohol consumption generally, or to make it cost-prohibitive for all categories of drinkers. This legislation forms part of a wider and continuing programme of work to tackle alcohol-related harm here in Wales. And we've set that out in our substance misuse delivery plan for 2019 to 2022. 

We will, though, introduce a minimum price for alcohol to be supplied in Wales and make it an offence for alcohol to be supplied below that price. And, again, that was contained in the passage of the Bill, now the Act. A minimum price will set a floor price, meaning that alcohol could not be sold or supplied below that price. It would not increase the price of every drink, only those that are currently sold or supplied at below any minimum price. 

We've worked closely with retailers, the alcohol industry, public health and substance misuse stakeholders as this legislation has been developed, and we are committed to continuing to do so. Should the regulations be agreed, the key focus of our work now will be a communication campaign for retailers and the general public in the run-up to implementation. And that will continue to promote the public health aims of the legislation. I look forward to the debate and ask Members to agree to these regulations.