Alcohol pricing
The Government’s proposals

Introduce a minimum unit price for alcohol

The availability of cheap alcohol has been a key contributing factor in the development of this country’s binge-drinking culture.

The government will no longer tolerate the sale of heavily discounted alcohol which leads to irresponsible behaviour and unacceptable levels of crime and health harms.

Alcohol has been so heavily discounted that it is now possible to buy a can of lager for as little as 20p and a two litre bottle of cider for £1.69.

Reduce alcohol consumption

Minimum unit pricing will tackle the issue of excessive alcohol consumption and heavily discounted alcohol sold in supermarkets and off-licences. This approach aims to reduce alcohol consumption and curb practices such as ‘pre-loading’ before a night out.

Example retail prices

Based on a 40p minimum unit price (for illustrative purposes) the minimum selling prices for various product types would be as shown above.

Consultation on a ban on multi-buy alcohol promotions in supermarkets and off -licences

The proposed ban would remove the incentive for individuals to buy more than they actually want. A ban would prevent alcohol retailers from applying discounts to multi-packs of alcohol and would prevent multi-buy offers such as ‘buy-one-get-one-free’,
‘3-for-the-price-of-2’ and ‘buy-6-get-20%-off’.

Multi-buy alcohol promotion examples - The following promotions would be banned:

2 for the price of 1 3 for 2 buy-one-get-one-free buy 6 get 20% off 24 cans of Stella costing less than 24 times what one can of Stella costs in your store Sell a case of wine cheaper than 12x the individual price at which you sell the same bottles 3 for £10 where each bottle costs more than £3.33 Half price / a third off / £x off any individual item Cut the price of a single can so that it’s as cheap as the ones in the multi-pack Big bottle (containing twice as much as a can) costing less than 2 cans (not the same ‘container’) Stop selling individual bottles, and price the case however you like 2 for £10 as long as you can also buy each one for £3.33