Editorial – August 2019
Welcome to the August 2019 edition of Alcohol Alert, the Institute of Alcohol Studies newsletter, covering the latest updates on UK alcohol policy matters.
This month, NHS Health Scotland's evaluation of MUP finds the policy has been well implemented since its introduction.
Other articles include: Abertay Uni Student Union bar becomes the first in the UK to stop selling alcohol 'because of falling demand', official statistics find underage drinking is influenced by parents, and that progress made in reducing drink-driving deaths and injuries continues to slow.
Please click on the article titles to read them, or alternatively download a PDF version of our newsletter by clicking on the cover image. We hope you enjoy this edition.
Top of pageCOVER STORY – MUP ‘well implemented’ in first year
First evaluation of pricing policy finds high rates of compliance
01 August 2019 – Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) for alcohol has been implemented effectively in Scotland, according to NHS Health Scotland, with local authority representatives noting high compliance rates among licensed premises.
This is the first study from the MUP Evaluation Portfolio, an ongoing project designed to assess the social and health impacts of MUP. Researchers conducted telephone interviews with 12 Licensing Standards Officers (LSOs), five Police Scotland local divisional licensing officers, and three Trading Standards Officers (TSOs).
Elinor Dickie, public health intelligence adviser at NHS Health Scotland, who wrote the report, said: ‘Minimum unit pricing has the potential to improve Scotland's relationship with alcohol and reduce the harm it causes.
‘But MUP in the form we have it in Scotland hasn't been put it in place anywhere before. That's why it's so important to gather evidence of its impact through a robust and comprehensive evaluation.
‘This study represents a crucial foundation for the rest of our evaluation. Successful implementation is an important first step for any policy to achieve its intended outcome. Having now established that MUP was well implemented and compliance is high, we can be confident in assessing findings from other studies in the evaluation portfolio on the extent to which MUP has affected other outcomes.’
Respondents expressed their satisfaction with licensed premises’ adoption of the new legislation from 01 May 2018. In retrospect, concerns were raised over the ‘limited lead-in time’ between the announcement that MUP would go ahead and the start date and the availability of guidance for premises, but any issues of non-compliance with MUP were ultimately considered to be minor. Non-compliance was not found to be an issue among on-trade premises (eg pubs, hotels), and all issues of non-compliance in the off-trade (off-licence shops, supermarkets) were swiftly resolved. No increases in illegal alcohol-related activity were found as a result of the introduction of MUP.
Researchers also identified a number of factors that supported the high level of compliance:
- the mandatory status of MUP. This means that all premises must comply as a condition of their alcohol licence
- the level at which MUP was set (£0.50p) means it had limited effect on the on-trade and only affected a comparatively small proportion of alcohol products in the off-trade
- the financial incentive for licensed premises to comply, both to protect their licence, and because MUP is perceived to increase their income
- the role of the LSOs, together with the police licensing division and TSOs, in supporting compliance. The practical resources made available, such as the guidance produced by the Scottish Government and Scottish Grocers Federation, were also felt to have helped licensed premises.
Chairman of the National Licensing Standards Officers' Network Douglas Frood said: ‘Practitioners felt the trade were receptive to the new condition, and highlighted both the level of engagement amongst licence holders and their willingness to comply with the legislation.
‘The finding that no known increase in illegal and unlicensed alcohol activity related to the introduction of MUP was reported is also to be welcomed.’
A series of further evaluations of MUP will be published before the end of 2019, including analysis of sales data and the impact of the policy on children and young people.
Prices of different alcoholic beverages under a minimum unit price of 50 pence per unit. Source: IAS, Price factsheet
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You can hear Dr Peter Rice talk about how the policy is implemented in our Alcohol Alert podcast.