UK drinkers face sobering Budget

Cardiff will see a hike in alcohol prices above the rate of inflation when the Chancellor announces the Budget on Wednesday.

Tax on alcohol will be above the rate of inflation, currently at 2.2 per cent, and is expected to rise again as the Government attempts to tackle wide-spread alcohol abuse, but support for such a move is hard to find in the Welsh capital.

Alistair Darling, Chancellor of the Exchequer, will be delivering the news just two weeks after The British Medical Association called for a rise in the price of alcohol.

But Dr Gareth Hayes, a GP at Whitchurch Village Practice on Park Road, Whitchurch, said: “It may decrease some of the drinking by youngsters which will be good for long-term health but overall it will have limited impact.”

Steve James, director of The Fitzhamon Alcohol Advice Centre on Fitzhamon Embankment, Cardiff, said: “We have to find ways to reduce the amount of alcohol people use because it is a dangerous drug. However, increasing the tax hits the poorest sections much harder than the richer and does not necessarily lead to a reduction in their intake. For example, smokers are predominately lower class.

“I’m not certain raising the price does the job it’s supposed to do. It will only have health benefits for those who cut down their drinking. For those people who earn enough it is not going to cut down their drinking and for many of those at the bottom, socialising in this way is one of the few pleasures they have.”

But the Conservatives have accused the Prime Minister of leading a “war against the middle classes” by pushing up duty, and campaigners have predicted the majority will resent having to pay for the alcohol abuses of the minority.

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) and the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) have warned a duty increase would have little effect on cheap supermarket deals as they would be able to absorb the price increases.

They have also warned any rise in duty would see more pubs shut. The BBPA has claimed four pubs a day were closing and Camra has said 57 a month are closing.

Debra Richards, 45, owner of The Borough Arms on St Mary Street, agrees.

She said: “The price rise won’t have an effect on binge drinking because of supermarkets.”

She added: “The increase is a dread because the majority of my customers are older. I really dread it. We are just a little family business. It’s going to hit us. I’m not sure if [Darling] wants us to stay in business. We won’t be able to go the full price increase.”

Chris Warlow, 21, a second-year student studying French and Cultural Criticism, who lives on Manor Street, said: “The price increase is not going to do anything to reduce binge drinking.”

Sammy Lane, 22, a third-year student studying French, living on Rhymney Street, said: “As a student it doesn’t really feel fair. You have to have a break from your studies. I don’t think it would be so much of a problem if education wasn’t so expensive. Just like smoking, a raise doesn’t prevent people from doing something.”

Mr Darling’s first budget will see an increase in the price of spirits for the first time since Labour came to power in 1997, while beer will increase by one to two pence and the price of wine will be raised by 16p to 27p.

(Published: Tuesday 11 March 2008, Cardiff Evening News Budget Special)