Tories report Humza Yousaf to statistics watchdog over 'grossly misleading' report on minimum alcohol pricing

The report claimed the policy had helped save lives.

A report which states a flagship alcohol pricing policy has saved lives is “grossly misleading”, a GP and Scottish Conservative MSP has claimed.

Dr Sandesh Gulhane, his party’s health spokesman, has written to the head of the UK Statistics Authority, accusing the Scottish Government of “grossly misleading” the public.

Public Health Scotland released it final report on minimum unit pricing – a policy which instituted a 50p minimum charge per unit of alcohol in a drink – in a bid to curb alcohol harms.

Alcohol for sale in an Edinburgh off-licence.

The report found there had been a “positive impact”, with alcohol deaths reducing by more than a tenth and hospital admissions directly related to alcohol consumption dropping by 4.1 per cent.

But Dr Gulhane claimed the report and statements from ministers about it “overstate” the impact of MUP, saying that of the 40 independent studies cited by the report, just eight mention health implications of the policy, seven of which are inconclusive and the remaining one was conducted by a Public Health Scotland adviser.

The complaints also come two years after it was revealed during the Covid-19 pandemic that one of the health agency’s roles was to protect the reputation of ministers. This included scoring papers set for publication on a scale of how critical they were of government policy.

In his letter to Sir Robert Chote, the Dr Gulhane asked for a review of the report to be carried out, adding: “It purports to be the final report from the PHS evaluation of minimum unit pricing for alcohol in Scotland.”

Dr Sandesh Gulhane, shadow Scottish health secretary and a local GP. Picture: John Devlin

“It is likely to be used in Scottish Government decision-making on whether to continue with MUP and whether to raise the minimum unit price of alcohol.

“However, I am concerned the report and associated publicity and ministerial statements significantly overstate the health impact of MUP, and under-represent the significant uncertainty in the wider body of research and among the scientific community.”

The report said the policy reduced alcohol deaths by 13.4 per cent since its introduction despite limited evidence of reducing consumption among low income alcoholics.

While alcohol deaths reduced by more than a tenth, the report also noted that hospital admissions due to direct alcohol consumption fell by 4.1 per ceny, with the largest reduction seen in men and those living in the 40 per cent most deprived areas.

The report estimates there were about 150 fewer deaths on average each year, and 400 fewer hospital admissions.

Based on retail sales, a 3 per cent reduction in alcohol consumption was seen at a population level, largely driven by cider and spirits sales in off-trade products which increased the most in price.

However, the report noted evidence of negative consequences for those on low incomes who have well-established dependencies on alcohol.

The PHS report said there was “limited evidence” the scheme had reduced consumption among this group – and had even led to some prioritising spending their funds on alcohol rather than food.

But, at a population level, there had been no evidence of substantial negative impacts on social harms such as alcohol-related crime or illicit drug use, the report said.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Public Health Scotland used research governance processes and established scientific methods to ensure impartiality, and had their quality assessment of the papers for inclusion validated by a third party not involved in the MUP evaluation.

“The draft final report was reviewed by members of the evidence synthesis advisory group, which comprised members with a variety of relevant experience, including lived experience, experience and expertise in public health, and expertise in synthesis of evidence for decision making.

“The Scottish Government will be considering a wide range of evidence and information to inform our ongoing assessment of the operation of MUP. Our final report on MUP will be laid in Parliament in the autumn.”

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