Letter: Alcohol is not just a Scottish issue

DUNCAN Hamilton (Scrutiny, 5 September) is incorrect in his analysis of the politics surrounding the minimum price for alcohol in Scotland, and specifically in his assertion that "we created a parliament to find Scottish solutions to Scottish problems".

We created a Scottish parliament to deal with problems in Scotland, but some issues require co-operation at a UK, European or even an international level. The debate here regards the specific SNP proposal on minimum pricing which is almost certainly illegal, risks developing a cross-border black market and which will simply line the pockets of drinks manufacturers and supermarkets.

The political consensus for dealing with this issue is that a minimum price would be best generated through the UK tax system. We know this will be legal, will not create cross border problems and any revenues generated will be going to the public purse.

The problem for the Scottish Government, of course, is that this would mean working with the UK government, and in their narrow parochial view, this would mean the SNP could not then claim a powerful public health legacy similar to the smoking ban delivered by the previous administration.

But wait! There is a significant problem with drink south of the Border as well. If we used the UK tax system, Scotland would again have developed a positive legacy across the UK, equivalent or greater in importance to the smoking ban on which we also led the way. SNP ministers could then hold their heads up after all, having delivered an effective solution for Scotland and the wider UK as well, providing of course that it is not their parochialism that is the driving factor in all this.

Victor Clements, Aberfeldy