Government funds SNP booze backer

A CHARITY which is one of the loudest supporters of the SNP's flagship alcohol pricing policy has confessed it is "reliant" on Scottish Government funding to keep going.

- By David Walker

Minimum unit pricing has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years for failing to reduce deaths relating to booze, despite hiking the price of alcohol north of the border.

In 2023, Scotland saw a 15-year high in alcohol-specific deaths, with 1,277 deaths recorded, a single death more than the previous year.

The relationship between charities and the Scottish Government has come under the microscope recently amid claims they are prevented from criticising SNP policies due to a fear of losing funding.