8. The Public Health (Minimum Price for Alcohol) (Minimum Unit Price) (Wales) Regulations 2019

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:53 pm on 12 November 2019.

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Photo of Angela Burns Angela Burns Conservative 4:53, 12 November 2019

Thank you, Minister, for your statement today. As you said yourself, this is part of a wider programme. This is the last element in the implementation of the legislation that has been passed previously, and the Welsh Conservatives will support these regulations coming into force. But I would like to just make a couple of points, because for us it is about the wider story, and I would urge you once again to be absolutely robust in the collection of data.

We know of many policies that have been implemented. Some have had their data collected very successfully, but there are also a substantial number where the data collection isn't very good, there's very little measurement, there's very little monitoring, there's very little analysis of the effectiveness of the policy. And we all recognise, and we should recognise, that this policy, this minimum unit price of 50p, will only work if it is in the round, if it goes in with everything else. 

I would like you to also undertake once again to ensure that there is adequate provision currently and in the future for alcohol treatment and support services. I do appreciate that you've put it in your substance misuse plan, and my colleague, Mark Isherwood, speaks on this subject most passionately, but we and the committee didn't find the evidence to say that there was enough support for people suffering from alcohol misuse currently, and we'd like to have that reassurance, going forward, that that will be there. 

Scotland, of course, are already a little bit further down the curve than this. Both Scotland and Wales are absolutely trailblazing in this legislation, and I would urge you to continue to monitor the impacts so that, as this legislation is implemented throughout Wales over the next five years, we can learn from them, as they are just that little bit further ahead of us. Because, hopefully, if this proves to be a really successful way of tackling an enormous epidemic, then other countries will follow us, and that's what we need to do—set the bar, have the evidence to say why it works and how it works, so that others may follow.

And finally, and it's been a particular concern of mine from some of the evidence we heard, is the issue of substitution. I would like to be really reassured that Welsh Government will have a strong grip on understanding whether or not substitution is taking place, because we wouldn't like to see people bounce out of one addiction and into another. Thank you.