This briefing summarises the evidence in Scotland, England and the UK on changes in consumption of alcohol over the COVID-19 pandemic, and on alcohol-related health harms. It builds on previous work by Public Health Scotland and others by including evidence from a range of sources to understand what impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on alcohol use and associated harms. This helps to contextualise work examining trends in alcohol consumption and harm over time. For example, Public Health Scotland is undertaking an evaluation of Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) of alcohol in Scotland, which was implemented in 2018. When examining the impact of MUP on health harms, England is used as a control, since MUP has not been implemented in England. Understanding the effect of COVID-19 in both countries is useful when interpreting any changes in consumption and harm from 2020 onwards.