What now for deprivations of liberty?
What will the effect of the postponement of the Liberty Protections Safeguards be on local authorities? Local Government Lawyer asked 50 adult social care lawyers for their views on the potential consequences.
SPOTLIGHT |
SPOTLIGHT |
The Welsh Government will introduce a minimum unit price for alcohol of 50p from 2 March 2020, after regulations were this week approved by the National Assembly for Wales.
The Public Health (Minimum Price for Alcohol) (Wales) Act 2018 will mean that it will be an offence for alcohol to be supplied below that price in Wales.
The Welsh Government said: “In Wales there are 60,000 admissions to hospital every year, because of alcohol. Alcohol costs the NHS £159m annually. In 2018, there were 535 alcohol-related deaths in Wales.
“The new law supports the Welsh Government’s comprehensive work to tackle harmful and hazardous drinking by tackling the availability and affordability of cheap, strong alcohol, which is part of wider efforts to improve and protect the health of the population of Wales.”
The Welsh Government highlighted research which it said estimated that introducing a 50p minimum unit price (MUP) would:
It also claimed research had recently shown that the introduction of a 50p minimum unit price for alcohol in Wales was unlikely to see drinkers switching to other substances or drugs. However, the Welsh Government said this was something which would be monitored closely once the legislation was implemented.
Health Minister Vaughan Gething said: “There is a very real and clear link between levels of excessive drinking and the availability of cheap alcohol. We believe the introduction of a minimum unit price will help reduce alcohol related harm and support people to drink responsibly. Scotland has seen a decline in the amount of alcohol that is consumed since the introduction of MUP and I hope that we will see similar results in Wales.”