Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) Continuation and future pricing: Stage 2: Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment

2. Evidence from stakeholders/Policy Colleagues

Engagement for the PHS evaluation of MUP

The PHS evaluation explored the impact of MUP on harms from others' drinking in a study using focus groups with practitioners working with families, children and young people affected by parent/carer harmful alcohol use. A topic guide was developed and included questions on participants' perceptions of the potential harms experienced by children and young people affected by parent/carer harmful alcohol use, any potential changes participants had observed since the introduction of MUP, and what factors might have contributed to any changes.

The study employed purposive sampling to identify participants from organisations working with families affected by harmful alcohol use. With the help of Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADP) staff, services from different parts of the country were identified to ensure a mixture of geographical areas, with varying and mixed levels of socioeconomic deprivation, were included. The research team then provided senior staff in the identified services with a study information sheet to give to potential participants.

The final sample comprised eight focus groups and one interview: a total of 42 participants. Six focus groups comprised a mixture of health, social work and third sector participants. One focus group comprised local level third sector participants only, and one included staff from a national third sector organisation. Some participants worked within services that focused primarily on the needs of children and young people, some on adults and a few took a whole-family approach.

Engagement by Scottish Government

In summer 2022, children and young peoples' stakeholder organisations (including the Scottish Youth Parliament, Children's Parliament and YoungScot) were invited to roundtable events that were held in 2022 and were invited to respond to a survey to submit any views on the continuation of the policy for children and young people. One stakeholder attended these roundtables. The feedback received was that –

• Youth work sector is slightly more removed from alcohol harm prevention policy and would find it difficult to attribute any changes in alcohol consumption habits to anything in particular.
• Impact of Covid-19 pandemic found people spending more time at home, this has had a larger impact on young people's health
• Young people probably wouldn't even know MUP has been introduced, however, the cost of alcohol is probably more of a concern now with the cost of living crisis with young people and families making decisions on what to spend their money on.

No concerns were submitted via the survey.

Officials who lead Children's Rights interests within Scottish Government have been consulted and provided input into the evaluation process/price review of Minimum Unit Pricing. Children's rights policy colleagues are supportive of MUP. Their only concern was that it could possibly have an indirect negative financial impact on children whose parents/care givers are harmful drinkers, however they were still supportive of the policy given the negative impact of alcohol harm on children.