Compulsory ID checks in alcohol code
Licensees could face a six month jail sentence or a £20,000 fine if they fail to ask anyone who looks under-18 for ID under the Government's mandatory code on alcohol retailing.
A Home Office spokesperson told the Morning Advertiser that five conditions have been included in the code.
They are:
• Legal requirement to ask anyone who looks under-18 for ID
• A ban on "all-you-can-drink" promotions and other irresponsible speed drinking contests
• Ban on the dentist's chair game
• Free tap water for customers
• Requirement to offer small measures of wines (125ml) and spirits (25ml or 35ml)
Licensees and shops breaching the code could face a hefty £20,000 fine or a six month jail sentence.
The code needs Parliamentary approval but the plan would be to introduce it in two stages.
Conditions regarding irresponsible promotions, the dentist's chair and free tap water would come in from 6 April.
The age verification and smaller measures conditions would come into effect on 1 October.
"Alcohol-related crime costs the UK billions of pounds every year and while the vast majority of retailers are responsible, a minority continue to run irresponsible promotions which fuel the excessive drinking that leads to alcohol-related crime and disorder," said Home Secretary Alan Johnson.
"These practices have a real impact on society not to mention the lives of those who just want to enjoy a good night out.
"The Government and the industry have a duty to act, this mandatory code will allow us to take action against an issue which affects us all.
"We have consulted extensively with the public and the alcohol industry to ensure that these conditions will only target the most irresponsible practices that most people agree should not happen anywhere."
Health Secretary Andy Burnham added: "The steps being announced today will ban the worst types of irresponsible price promotions and ensure people can choose to drink small measures of alcohol to help them drink less on a night out."
Local conditions
Previous estimates suggest the code could cost the trade £58m to implement with on-going annual costs of £38m.
As the MA revealed last month, a proposed second set of conditions that could be imposed by councils on multiple venues in hotspots have been dropped from the code.
The idea was that separate plans to give local councillors and licensing officers the right to initiate licence reviews — announced by Gordon Brown in September — would be more effective.
• Trade reaction: Alcohol code fines 'absolutely ludicrous'
• Trade reaction: BBPA: alcohol code lop-sided in favour of supermarkets
What does the code mean for you as a licensee? Let us know by hitting Post a comment below.
