17/02/12 - Swindon Advertiser Weekly Article

I was delighted this week to hear David Cameron talk about the issue of binge drinking, making it one of the government’s top priorities. It’s something I’ve been working on ever since I became an MP, as a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group ‘Save the Pub’ and The British Beer and Pub Association. I also used to work in Swindon’s ‘night-time economy’ as a club manager, so I know from professional experience what a problem excessive drinking can be.

The Prime Minister called for bars, supermarkets and the drinks industry to do more to help ensure responsible drinking. He promised to tackle the scandal of drunkenness and alcohol abuse that costs the NHS £2.7bn a year, although when you factor in policing, working days lost through illness and other related issues, the true cost to our communities is much higher.

A ban on the sale of alcohol below cost price is set to be introduced in England and Wales from 6 April. This will target the £10 ‘all you can drink’ offers and the sale of supermarket lager for as little as 22p - the sort of deals which drive people into irresponsible and dangerous levels of drinking. There’s much talk about the introduction of an overall minimum cost per unit for alcohol, which is already on the cards in Scotland. However I believe that would be unfair because it penalises all drinkers, not just those who cause or have problems with alcohol. We should be very careful not to punish the vast majority of responsible drinkers. Many people enjoy a glass of wine or a pint of beer and never cause any trouble - why should they be penalised by having to pay more? I think the root of the problem is the culture that’s grown up among many young people. It’s become the norm for them to go out and get dangerously drunk, and believe it’s the only way to have a good night. We need to work to change that attitude through a mixture of education and enforcement. At the same time, let’s look at how the ban on ‘below cost’ sales works before we take any draconian action on alcohol pricing.

Another issue we need to take into account is how premises in the night time economy are licensed. Early morning restriction orders, late night levies and better regulation of underage drinking are among the measures being looked at. As the Prime Minister said, the drinks industry, supermarkets, pubs and clubs all need to work with the government to ensure that "responsible drinking becomes a reality and not just a slogan".