Dundee licensing chief Rod Wallace is to ask city council officials to investigate the possibility of introducing minimum alcohol pricing in the city’s pubs and clubs through a by-law.
Responding to a report that claimed three Scottish local authorities are looking at bringing in their own price controls, Mr Wallace said the idea was “interesting” and merited further investigation.
In England the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities and 10 primary care trusts in the area have been working on introducing a by-law for a minimum price of 50p per unit of alcohol. They have the backing of Prime Minister David Cameron and are expected to produce a report at the end of the month.
The SNP government at Holyrood had plans to impose a minimum pricing policy in an effort to curb binge drinking but it has been foiled by opposition parties who blocked the move in committee.
However, some local authorities still believe there has to be a way of gaining a measure of control over the alcohol consumption of over-indulgent revellers and are now considering a version of Manchester’s by-law option.
Campaigning organisation Alcohol Focus Scotland said it has been approached by two councils in recent weeks asking for guidance on the matter.
Stirling Council is also looking into minimum pricing.
Mr Wallace, chairman of the licensing board, said, “I will certainly now be going to the council’s legal adviser to get some background papers about this and to see if it’s something we can take forward to the licensing board.
“The Scottish Government’s main legislation on alcohol pricing appears to have stalled and I think the idea of a national pricing policy is going down the pan. It might be interesting to see if there’s a way of supporting the main aspects of the licensing bill.
“We would first of all flag this up with the Dundee Licensing Forum (which reviews the operation of the licensing act in the area) and they, in turn, would have to take any proposals back to their members to see if it was a viable proposition.”Flagship policyThe SNP’s flagship alcohol pricing policy was designed to curb cut-price drink offers in shops and supermarkets. A local by-law setting the lowest price per unit of alcohol in Dundee would have a similar effect by cutting off access to cheap drink.
It is understood Scotland’s licensing act gave local authorities the power to make by-laws until the option was removed in the 2005 version of the legislation.
A Scottish Government amendment to the act could restore that power to the country’s licensing boards and could prove much easier to implement than a national alcohol pricing policy.
Mr Wallace said there was no doubt some people in the city had difficulty controlling their intake and over-imbibing was often behind the anti-social behaviour that could be seen on the streets late at night.
“At the end of the day, some of the characters who come out of licensed premises are in a terrible state and the problem is passed on to the police to restore order,” he added.
“There is sometimes a further knock-on effect at the accident and emergency department at Ninewells Hospital.”