Scottish Government Shift over Alcohol Plans - McInnes
March 25, 2009 12:00 AM
Alison McInnes, Liberal Democrat MSP for North East Scotland, has welcomed news that the Scottish Government have been forced to submit plans to bring in far-reaching changes on the regulation of alcohol sales to full Parliamentary scrutiny.
The proposals - which include the introduction of minimum retail pricing for alcohol - are highly controversial, yet the original announcement would have seen the changes made without full debate and with no opportunity for opposition parties to suggest amendments. However, the Government have now been forced to rethink that plan due to widespread criticism of their approach.
Mrs McInnes commented:
"While there is agreement that tackling Scotland's drinking culture must be a priority, it is no excuse for the Government to attempt to sneak through major reforms under the counter, without proper scrutiny.
"I believe that bringing forward these highly contentious plans that only the Government could amend was simply unacceptable. It is only right that significant changes such as these are brought forward through new legislation, to allow them to be carefully considered by Parliament.
"With that in mind, I am delighted that the Government has now given in to pressure from opposition parties and agreed instead to introduce a new Bill. This will ensure that we are able to properly debate the impacts of these wide ranging proposals."
Ends.
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