UK SC upholds Scotland’s price hike on cheap booze

The UK Supreme Court has ruled that Scotland can set a minimum price for alcohol, rejecting a challenge by the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA). It is expected to become the first country in the world to set a minimum price for alcohol after the court rejected a last-ditch appeal against the move.

The ruling has reignited calls for the policy to be applied across the UK.

After the Supreme Court verdict, ministers are expected to make Scotland the first country in the world to establish a minimum price per unit of alcohol, possibly early next year.

Legislation was approved by the Scottish Parliament five years ago but has been tied up in court challenges.

In a unanimous judgment, seven Supreme Court judges said the legislation did not breach European Union law. The judges ruled the measure was a "proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim" - which is to reduce the amount that problem drinkers consume simply by raising the price of the strongest, cheapest alcohol.

The move is not a tax or duty increase. It is a price hike for the cheapest drink, with any extra cash going to the retailer.

Ministers said a 50p-per-unit minimum would help tackle Scotland's "unhealthy relationship with drink" by raising the price of cheap, high-strength alcohol.

The whisky association had claimed the move was a "restriction on trade" and there were more effective ways of tackling alcohol misuse.

A small number of countries, including Canada and Russia, have some form of minimum price structure, according to the Institute for Alcohol Studies.

Many others have rules aimed at restricting cheap alcohol sales.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted, "Absolutely delighted that minimum pricing has been upheld by the Supreme Court. This has been a long road - and no doubt the policy will continue to have its critics - but it is a bold and necessary move to improve public health."

The Scotch Whisky Association said it accepted the Supreme Court's ruling.

The Scottish government believes cracking down on cheap alcohol will help tackle the country's binge-drinking culture. Last year, Alcohol Focus Scotland claimed the maximum recommended weekly intake of alcohol (14 units) could be bought for just £2.52, the BBC reports.

It said super-strength cider and own-brand vodka and whisky could be purchased for as little as 18p per unit of alcohol.

The 50p-per-unit minimum outlined by the legislation would raise the price of the cheapest bottle of red wine (9.4 units of alcohol) to £4.69, a four-pack of 500ml cans of 4 per cent lager (8 units) would cost at least £4 and a 70cl bottle of whisky (28 units of alcohol) could not be sold for less than £14.

Normal strength cider (5 per cent ABV) would cost at least £2.50 a litre while a super-strength version (7.5 per cent ABV) would have to cost a minimum of £3.75 for a litre.

Minimum pricing will not raise the prices of all alcoholic drinks because many are already above the threshold.

Pubs and bars are unlikely to be affected as they usually charge much more than 50p per unit.

The aim is to hit consumption of strong alcohol which is sold at low prices.

The new laws would be "experimental" and expire after six years unless renewed.

Supporters of minimum pricing believe the move is necessary to tackle the country's binge drinking culture, with Scots buying 20 per cent more alcohol on average than people in England or Wales.

The judges at the Supreme Court rejected the Scotch Whisky Association's claim that an excise duty or tax would be an equally effective way of achieving the government's objectives.

The judges said a tax would increase prices "across the board" and not just the cheap, strong alcohol which is the focus of the legislation.

Their judgment said minimum pricing targeted "the health hazards of cheap alcohol and the groups most affected in a way that an increase in excise or VAT does not".

They also agreed that minimum pricing was "easier to understand and simpler to enforce".

Minimum pricing would not allow retailers to "absorb" the cost in the way a duty rise would, they said.

The Scottish government said it would move as quickly as possible to implement the legislation.

Scotland's health minister Shona Robison said, "This is a historic and far-reaching judgment and a landmark moment in our ambition to turn around Scotland's troubled relationship with alcohol.

"In a ruling of global significance, the UK Supreme Court has unanimously backed our pioneering and life-saving alcohol pricing policy."

The Supreme Court ruling was the final stage of a five-year legal battle, with the cases already passing through courts in Edinburgh and Luxembourg. After an initial challenge at the Court of Session failed in 2013, the SWA appealed to the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

The European court said the legislation might break EU law if other tax options would prove as effective, but said it was "ultimately for the national court to determine" whether they did.

The Scottish court subsequently backed the measures for a second time, ruling that tax measures "would be less effective than minimum pricing".

However, in December 2016 the Court of Session judges then allowed the SWA to go to the Supreme Court to challenge their ruling.