Booze ban for public receptions

ALCOHOL should be banned from parliament and council receptions as part of a drive to change Scotland's attitude to drink, a report said today.

An independent alcohol commission set up by the Labour Party said public bodies should set an example in trying to tackle the country's hard-drinking culture.

The report said: "Public bodies, including central and local government and the voluntary sector, should be called upon to adopt policies of providing only non-alcoholic drink at official functions at their own or other premises."

The commission was set up by Labour to look at alternatives to the SNP's proposals for minimum pricing as a way to combat Scotland's drink problem.

Today's call for an alcohol ban at receptions will now have to be considered by the party.

But a Labour source said: "The commission were clear about the need for cultural change and believed that the public sector had a leadership role to play.

"Whilst ultimately this is a matter for public bodies themselves, there may be merit in this suggestion, particularly in the context of tightening budgets."

The commission today reiterated the call made in its interim report earlier this year for a legal limit on the amount of caffeine in alcohol, a mandatory "Challenge 25" scheme where anyone under 25 could be asked to produce ID, and the piloting of Alcohol Treatment and Testing Orders.

• Do you agree that alcohol should be banned from Holyrood and council events? Vote here

The report rejected minimum unit pricing as the best mechanism for setting the price of alcohol and said taxation should be the main lever for ensuring that alcohol is sold at a level that reduces harm.

The commission wants duty to reflect the alcoholic content of individual drinks.

In order to stop retailers absorbing the cost of duty hikes, it argued for a "floor price" - calculated on the basis of duty plus VAT plus a notional production cost - which would prevent drinks being sold below cost price.

Commission chairwoman Professor Sally Brown said: "It is essential that Scotland is very serious about resolving its problems of alcohol misuse.

"We need a broad-based, coherent and effective strategy that recognises the complexities of the difficulties we face - there is no silver bullet that will provide a quick fix.

"The commission was repeatedly told that it will be difficult to change Scotland's culture in relation to alcohol, but it can be done. We need leadership that both recognises the problem and is prepared to take comprehensive steps."

Welcoming today's report, Labour's health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: "The Commission have clearly rejected minimum unit pricing, favouring instead a UK-wide approach based on a floor price.

"It is now time for the SNP to move on from their obsession with minimum unit pricing and engage in a serious debate with the other parties in the parliament."