The introduction of a minimum price for alcohol was recommended yesterday by the Government’s advisory body on medical treatment.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) wants to make it more difficult for young people and binge drinkers to buy hazardous amounts of alcohol.

Its draft proposal reflects calls for reform by the British Medical Council and Sir Liam Donaldson, the Chief Medical Officer, but counters the position taken by the Department of Health, one of Nice’s chief stakeholders. The Scottish government has already made moves towards introducing price controls.

Gordon Brown rejected a proposal to create a 50p minimum price in March but Nice says that there is enough evidence to justify a ban. “The evidence suggests that young people who drink and young people who drink harmful amounts of alcohol tend to choose cheaper drinks. Establishing a minimum price per unit would limit the ability of these groups to ‘trade down’ to cheaper products,” it says in its 78-page proposal.

“A minimum unit price (unlike a tax increase) would prevent retailers from passing on any increase to producers, or absorbing it, so it would prevent them from selling alcohol below cost prices.”

• Patients will be able to rate their GPs on a comparison website produced by the Department of Health. Visitors to www.nhs.co.uk can read remarks about England’s 8,269 GP practices. Topics include how easy it is to make appointments and how staff treat patients. People will be able to make criticisms but abusive comments will be removed.

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