Policing and Crime Bill

Follow that. I entirely agree with much of what the noble Baroness, Lady Miller, has said. The explosion of pricing offers that result in the sale of strong alcohol at incredibly low, even below-cost, prices has been a major contributory factor in the rise of the binge-drinking culture in this country over recent years. My noble friend will remember that I was responsible for health matters in your Lordships’ House many years ago. I have always looked at health matters in terms of the cost per working hour—on an average basis, rather than based on an agricultural labourer’s wage, but none the less that gives you some guideline. He is right: alcohol has become very much cheaper since the war. I am not sure that the noble Baroness’s preferred way of addressing this problem is the most effective. The independent board of experts that she is calling for, in particular, seems to be an expensive and unnecessary obstacle in a rapid and effective policy of preventing irresponsible pricing offers. My noble friend Lord Onslow may or may not know that our intended way forward is to impose a higher rate of tax on super-strength alcohol, targeting only those who are seeking to drink to get drunk, not penalising responsible drinkers who like to enjoy a pint or two in their local pub, perhaps on their way home from work. To prevent excessively low prices, we would also impose an outright ban on below-cost price offers—something that a board of experts is not needed to assess. This would of course include half-price happy hours in public houses. It must also be wrong that some stores offer only multi-packs. The impossibility of buying a single can of, say, beer, means that there is a double incentive to buy and, more importantly, to consume a six-pack. However, I am certainly in agreement with the intentions behind the noble Baroness’s amendment, and I encourage the Minister to listen carefully to her arguments, aided and abetted, I hope, by myself.