Compulsory Challenge 21 plan shelved in mandatory code

The Government has abandoned plans to force all pubs to abide by Challenge 21 by law in its mandatory alcohol retailing code.

The consultation on the code, released today, re-affirms the Government's plan not to push ahead with minimum pricing — although it commits to gathering more evidence about it.

The plan to force all pubs to impose costly mandatory staff training, which had earlier been taken off as a mandatory condition, has been abandoned all together. Unlike on a previous draft, mandatory training is not included in a secondary tier of conditions that can be imposed by councils on multiple venues in hotspots.

As expected, the draft code bans a range of drinks promotions at all licensed venues including all-inclusives and speed drinking competitions. Pubs must offer smaller servings of drinks and display alcohol unit content.

A range of extra conditions, which can be imposed by councils on two or more venues, include:

• Bans on bulk-buy promotions such as discounts on buying more than one 24-pack of lager.

• Restricting happy hours and pub crawl at certain times.

• Requiring doorstaff to search for weapons and drugs at key times.

• Banning glass or ensuring containers are collected regularly.

• Compulsory CCTV.

• Displaying information about local transport links.

Breaching the code could mean a fine of up to £20,000, loss of licence, or even six months in prison.

Compulsory use of Challenge 21 is included in the list of council-imposed conditions — it was previously included among the mandatory conditions.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said: "Alcohol-related crime and disorder costs the UK billions every year in police and hospital resources, not to mention the effect it has on the lives of the millions of decent people who want to enjoy a night out.

"We do not want to stop the vast majority of people who enjoy a drink responsibly from doing so but this code will crack down on the minority of businesses whose irresponsible promotions fuel the excessive drinking that can lead people into crime and disorder or to risk their own or other's safety.

"It is not about penalising the majority who trade responsibly but the Government has a duty to tackle this issue which affects us all.

"We have consulted with the alcohol industry to ensure the conditions in the proposed code target the irresponsible practices that most people agree should not be allowed."

The consultation into the draft code closes on 5 August.

• Download the code by clicking here​.