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Underage alcohol sales down

12 October 2007

Fewer pubs and off-licences are persistently selling alcohol to children thanks to strict penalties, tough enforcement and positive efforts by the industry, new figures published today reveal.

The results of the national Tackling Underage Sales of Alcohol Campaign (TUSAC), during which 2,683 premises were targeted by police and trading standards officers during a 10-week campaign between 4 May and 13 July 2007, show that in nearly 9,000 test purchase operations children were only able to obtain alcohol in 14.7 per cent of cases.

Only 22 premises (0.8 per cent of premises targeted) sold alcohol to children on three separate occasions.

The figures signal a further improvement in the test purchase failure rate since national enforcement campaigns began three years ago.

In 2004, the overall test purchase failure rate was 50 per cent. In 2006, it had dropped to 20 per cent. In this latest and more targeted campaign it now stands below 15 per cent overall.

Whereas earlier enforcement campaigns were conducted on a random sample of premises, good and bad, this campaign targeted premises known to be problematic. A further reduction in the failure rate is therefore particularly encouraging.

Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker said:

“I am delighted that recent efforts by Government and our enforcement partners on the ground to clamp down on underage sales are beginning to bite. I know that the industry has made significant efforts in recent years to educate staff and strengthen procedures.

“It is clear that the ‘Challenge 21’ policy is now becoming established as standard practice across the industry. This campaign clearly demonstrates that improvements can be made with only very few premises failing three times. However the underlying figures indicate there is still room for further improvements to stop the sales first time, every time. 

“I am under no illusions that we need to continue to restrict the availability of alcohol to the under-18s and challenge the behaviour of people whose drinking causes damage to themselves and those around them. It’s a priority for me that the majority can continue to enjoy alcohol in moderation without being put at risk by the minority who abuse it.

“That’s why the Government’s alcohol strategy published this summer outlined how we will use new laws and licensing powers to bear down on irresponsibly-managed bars, pubs and off-licenses, at the same time as giving everyone the information they need to drink safely and responsibly.”

Licensing Minister Gerry Sutcliffe said:

"During this campaign 22 premises were caught selling alcohol to under 18s three times - they now face a fine of up to £10,000; a ban on selling alcohol to anyone for three months; and a review of their licence. A further 224 premises were caught twice and could have their licences reviewed.

"The bars and shops that have been caught out will be nervously awaiting the outcome of action taken against them, which could mean tens of thousands of pounds of lost alcohol sales."

Association of Chief Police Officers lead on alcohol Deputy Assistant Commissioner Chris Allison said:

“These results show that the situation in relation to underage sales has improved and the industry has played a major part in delivering this improvement. However, underage sales still remains an issue and the industry needs to maintain its focus on it.

“For our part, the Police Service will continue to work with Trading Standards, making use of targeted test purchase operations and the new powers in the Licensing Act to target problem premises.”

Chair of the Retail of Alcohol Standards Group Nick Grant said:

“We are very pleased to see that this further reduction in the test purchase failure rate reflects the efforts that have been made in this area, particularly around ‘Challenge 21’.

“Retailers have worked closely together with the police and trading standards to share best practice on how we can best reduce opportunities for young people to purchase alcohol. There is still more to do, and we will continue to work in partnership as part of our commitment to sell alcohol safely and responsibly.”

TUSAC is part a wider Government effort, guided by the alcohol strategy published in June this year, to reduce the harm that alcohol can cause to young people through tough enforcement of the law and effective education.

Following on from TUSAC, the Home Office has provided funding to 21 police forces to mount operations during the October half-term to confiscate alcohol from groups of youths drinking in public places. Police will also use new powers to disperse the groups if there is a risk of alcohol-related crime and disorder.

The Government is committed to providing authoritative, accessible guidance on alcohol to parents and young people about what is and what is not safe and sensible in light of the latest available evidence from the UK and abroad. The guidance will be based on the advice of a panel of people with expertise in youth alcohol use, as well as through consultation with young people and parents. The Department for Children Schools and Families will announce the membership of the panel later this year.

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. TUSAC involved 166 (out of 227) Basic Command Units of the Police, in partnership with Trading Standards Officers. The Home Office provided £535,000 to support the campaign.
2. Volunteers aged under-18, under the covert supervision of police and trading standards officers, were sent into premises where they attempted to buy alcohol.
3. The maximum penalty for repeated sales to minors is a £10,000 fine and/or three months suspension of the premises licence (this new power is part of the Licensing Act which was amended by the Violent Crime Reduction Act in November last year, which came into force on Good Friday 2007). Under the Licensing Act, premises selling to minors may also be taken to licence review, where conditions can be imposed, or the licence can be suspended or revoked altogether.
4. The smaller pilot to test TUSAC enforcement methods ran last autumn between 19-29 October 2006, prior to commencement of the persistent sales legislation. It targeted 224 ‘problem’ premises in 27 police areas across the country.
5. As a result of this earlier campaign over three-quarters of the 42 off-licenses, pubs and bars that failed two test purchases had additional conditions imposed on their licences. In addition, one license was revoked and 19 premises had their licences suspended.
6. Only premises which had previously failed test purchases or had been identified as being associated with underage sales were targeted in the latest TUSAC campaign.
7. The Government’s alcohol strategy, ‘Safe, Sensible, Social – next steps for the National Alcohol Strategy’, was published on 5 June by Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker and the then-Public Health Minister Caroline Flint. It builds on the foundations laid and the lessons learnt since 2004, when the country’s first Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy was launched. Key actions in the strategy include:
   • Sharpened criminal justice for drunken behaviour;
   • A review of NHS alcohol spending;
   • More help for people who want to drink less;
   • Toughened enforcement of underage sales;
   • Trusted guidance for parents and young people;
   • Public Information campaigns to promote a new ‘sensible drinking’ culture;
   • Public consultation on alcohol pricing and promotion;
   • Compulsory local alcohol strategies.
8. ‘Challenge 21’ requires off license and pub staff to ask anyone that appears to be under 21 to produce valid identification before selling them alcohol.
9. A summary of Results from TUSAC is below. Three of the 22 premises that sold alcohol three times to minors have had their licenses revoked and two face 48 hour suspension of their license. The rest are being considered for prosecution by the police and the Crown Prosecution Service.
10. The Confiscation of Alcohol (Young Persons) Act 1997 provides police officers in uniform and designated PCSOs the power to remove alcohol from persons under the age of 18 in a public place where alcohol is being consumed or the officer reasonably suspects consumption is about to take place. Twenty three Basic Command Units in 21 police forces are participating in the confiscation campaign this October:
    • Bedfordshire - Bedford
    • Cambridgeshire - Northern
    • Cleveland - Stockton
    • Devon & Cornwall - Plymouth
    • Dorset - Bournemouth
    • Greater Manchester - Bolton
    • Greater Manchester - Salford
    • Gwent - Caerphilly & Blaenau Gwent
    • Hampshire - Southampton
    • Kent - Medway
    • Lancashire - Western
    • Leicestershire - Central Leicestershire
    • Merseyside - South Liverpool
    • Metropolitan Police - Croydon
    • Metropolitan Police - Waltham Forest
    • Northamptonshire - Western
    • Northumbria - Sunderland
    • Nottinghamshire - Area A
    • South Wales - Swansea
    • South Yorkshire - Sheffield 2
    • Warwickshire - Northern
    • West Midlands - E2
    • West Yorkshire - City and Holbeck
11. Section 27 of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 came into force on 22 August 2007. It provides a constable in uniform with a power to direct an individual to leave a locality and prohibit their return for up to a maximum 48 hours where their presence is likely to cause or contribute to alcohol-related crime or disorder.
12. The Retail of Alcohol Standards Group (RASG) was formed at the end of 2005 and represents the alcohol retail trade.  By disseminating best practice and helping to change culture, it has increased retailer determination to sell alcohol responsibly. RASG members use ‘Under 21’ signage which has been designed to support the ‘Challenge 21’ approach to the sale of alcohol. This encourages anyone who is over 18 but looks under 21 and wishes to buy alcohol to carry acceptable ID (a card bearing the PASS hologram, a photographic driving licence or a passport).

  
   
  
   
  
   

 

 

 

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