Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps to reduce the alcohol content in drinks on sale in retail settings.

As set out in the 2019 publication, Advancing our Heath: Prevention in the 2020s, the Department is working with industry to deliver a significant increase in the availability of no- and low-alcohol products. Current guidance for the use of low-alcohol descriptors, published by the Department in 2018, sets out that “alcohol-free” products should have an alcohol by volume (ABV) content of no more than 0.05% and “low-alcohol” products should have an ABV of no more than 1.2%.

In support of the commitment to increase the availability of these products across retail and hospitality settings, the Government published a consultation on updating this guidance in September 2023. A response will be published in due course.

The Government has also delivered on its commitment to review the outdated and complex alcohol duty system and introduced the biggest reform of alcohol duties in 140 years. As of 1 August 2023, all alcohol is now taxed by strength. This is helping to target problem drinking by taxing products associated with higher alcohol-related harm at a higher rate of duty.

The new system incentivises the production and consumption of lower strength products by introducing a reduced rate of duty for products of a lower ABV. Additionally, all draught products below 8.5 per cent ABV sold in containers of 20 litres or more now receive a reduced rate of duty, incentivising consumption of lower strength products in pubs.