The Scottish Government has confirmed that it won’t implement a minimum price of alcohol until after the on-going judicial process is completed, but has stopped short of saying that the move has been postponed indefinitely.
The Scotsman reported this morning that implementation of the measure had been put on hold, with no date now given for introducing the controversial policy - it was initially expected to be introduced next spring. The newspaper said the plan had been postponed indefinitely.
In a statement, the Scottish Government said: “Minimum pricing will save lives and reduce the harm caused by alcohol misuse. Minimum pricing has been agreed by Parliament and backed by expert opinion and we are disappointed that a legal challenge could cause a delay to such a vital policy. Ministers have given an undertaking not to implement minimum unit pricing for alcohol until the judicial process has been completed.”
A spokeswoman told M&C Report: “We can’t speculate on timescales [for the introduction] at the moment.”
The Scottish Government wants to introduce a 50p-per-unit minimum price in a bid to curb deep discounting at supermarkets.
Last month the European Commission (EC) expressed concerns to the Scottish Government about whether the plans are compatible with EC law. In addition, governments of five EU countries - France, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Bulgaria - have written to the EC expressing concerns about Scotland’s minimum pricing proposals.
Meanwhile, in the summer three trade bodies - the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA), the European Spirits Organisation and wine association Comite Vins - made the petition to the Scottish Court of Session, arguing that minimum pricing could break EU regulations on competition. They said that the Scottish Government has exceeded its powers by pursuing the measure.
Separately, the SWA has made a formal complaint about the Scottish proposals to the EC.
The Scottish Government’s attempts to impose a minimum price are being looked at closely by the Westminster Government, which is to release a consultation on similar measures this autumn.
