The Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012 is an

Act of the Scottish Parliament An Act of the Scottish Parliament ( gd, Achd Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) is primary legislation made by the Scottish Parliament. The power to create Acts was conferred to the Parliament by section 28 of the Scotland Act 1998 following the successfu ...

, which introduces a statutory

minimum price A price floor is a government- or group-imposed price control or limit on how low a price can be charged for a product, good, commodity, or service. A price floor must be higher than the equilibrium price in order to be effective. The equilibrium ...

for alcohol, initially 50p per unit, as an element in the programme to counter

alcohol problems Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predominan ...

. The Act was passed with the support of the

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...

, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats and the

Greens Greens may refer to: *Leaf vegetables such as collard greens, mustard greens, spring greens, winter greens, spinach, etc. Politics Supranational * Green politics * Green party, political parties adhering to Green politics * Global Greens * Europ ...

. The opposition,

Scottish Labour Scottish Labour ( gd, Pàrtaidh Làbarach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Labour Pairty; officially the Scottish Labour Party) is a social democratic political party in Scotland. It is an autonomous section of the UK Labour Party. From their peak of ...

, refused to support the legislation because the Act failed to claw back an estimated £125m

windfall profit A windfall gain is an unusually high or abundant income, that is sudden and/or unexpected. Types Examples of windfall gains include, but are not limited to: *Gains from demutualization - this example can lead to especially large windfall gains. ...

from alcohol retailers. The Labour MSP

Malcolm Chisholm Malcolm George Richardson Chisholm (born 7 March 1949) is a Scottish politician who served as Minister for Health and Community Care from 2001 to 2004 and Minister for Communities from 2004 to 2006. A member of the Scottish Labour Party, he w ...

, the former

Minister for Health and Community Care The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, commonly referred to as the Health Secretary, is a cabinet position in the Scottish Government. The Cabinet Secretary is responsible for the Health and Social Care Directorates and NHS Scotland. ...

, disobeyed his party's whip and supported the government.

Legal challenge

A legal challenge to the minimum pricing legislation failed at the

Court of Session The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland and constitutes part of the College of Justice; the supreme criminal court of Scotland is the High Court of Justiciary. The Court of Session sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh ...

. The

Scotch Whisky Association The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) is a trade association, trade organisation that represents the Scotch whisky industry. The Scotch whisky industry is an important part of the Economy of Scotland, Scottish economy, and particularly the Scottis ...

, the Confédération Européenne des Producteurs de Spiritueux and the Comité Européen des Entreprises Vins appealed the judgement. The act was delayed, with a legal challenge by the Scotch Whisky Association being referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union by the

. The decision of the court, delivered in December 2015, was that such legislation would only be lawful if alternative policies such as higher taxes would not be effective in protecting public health. Scottish judges would be required to consider evidence on this point. On 15 November 2017, the

Supreme Court of the United Kingdom The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC or the acronym: SCOTUK) is the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom for all civil cases, and for criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As the Unite ...

unanimously rejected the Scotch Whisky Association's case, ending the legal battle, arguing that minimum pricing was a "proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim". The act came into effect on 1 May 2018.

Effects

Research by

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public university, public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is ...

published in May 2021 found that alcohol sales dropped by 7.7% in Scotland following the introduction of a minimum price, when compared to north-east England. A study published in 2021 found reductions in overall purchases of alcohol, largely restricted to households that bought the most alcohol, which continued into 2020. Similar legislation was implemented in Wales in March 2020 with the Public Health (Minimum Price for Alcohol) (Wales) Act 2018.

References

External links

*
Minimum Pricing
at the Scottish Government website Acts of the Scottish Parliament 2012 Retailing in Scotland Scots law Alcohol in Scotland Alcohol abuse in the United Kingdom Health law in Scotland Alcohol law in the United Kingdom Price controls Regulation in the United Kingdom {{Scotland-law-stub

Legal challenge

Effects

See also

References

External links