Scottish retailers fear further rise in customer abuse as minimum alcohol price rises

Scottish retailers and retail leaders are worried that a rise in the price of alcoholic drinks from Monday (30) will leave to further spike in abuse from shoppers as general public remain largely unaware.

The Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) and Scottish Grocers’ Federation (SGF) have raised concerns about staff welfare as the minimum price of a unit of alcohol increases from 50p to 65p.

That will mean the price of a 700ml bottle of spirits with a 40 per cent alcohol content, such as Scotch whisky, increasing from £14 to £18.20 while a 13 per cent bottle of wine rises from £4.88 to £6.34.

Ewan MacDonald-Russell, the deputy head of the SRC, said that he hoped shopworkers could avoid “unfair abuse or worse”.

"Retailers have prepared diligently for the implementation of the increased minimum unit price of alcohol, and we are confident the change will run smoothly in store.

"However, we are concerned the general public remain largely unaware that the cost of some products will be increasing, and that frontline shop staff will have to deal with their displeasure," he said.

Pete Cheema, the chief executive of SGF, said that the organisation had been working with its members and the government for months to ensure compliance with the legislation.

“We have been clear throughout the process that more needs to be done to raise awareness of the change, both for the public and among retailers.

'The danger is that prices leaping up overnight could significantly impact customer relations and potentially lead to more conflict, abuse and threatening behaviour toward staff, adding to the already debilitating escalation in retail crime of the past few years," The Times quoted Cheema as saying.

The minimum unit pricing (MUP) policy was first introduced in May 2018 when Scotland became the first country in the world to make it illegal for retailers to sell alcohol for less than a set price. The charge was initially 50p per unit and MSPs voted through a bill in April this year to raise that to 65p.

Paul Waterson, from the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, said: “We have supported MUP for many years and I don’t think it is unfair or unreasonable to put a 15p increase on it. There has been good work in stopping the sale of really strong ciders, which were really made to get people drunk very quickly. It more or less eradicated that from the shelves of supermarkets and off-sales premises.”

The Scottish Beer and Pub Association described the increase as unwelcome and said: “The evaluation of MUP showed very little evidence of the policy having a positive effect on health outcomes and comes at a time when other parts of the world are deciding to ditch similar policies.

“The industry is dedicated to reducing alcohol related harms, but we remain unconvinced that increasing MUP is a proportionate and effective measure to deliver this.”