Underage Sales Of Alcohol- Home Office Press Release -Results of TUSAC 2007 Campaign

11 October 07

The Smoking Ban- Initial Statistics

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 suggest.

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 of 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 has said that it 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.

Further Notes

A summary of Results from TUSAC is below, including the 22 premises with three test purchase failures. Three of these 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.

	Off licences	On licences	All premises
Test purchase operations	7408	1,558	8,966
Sales	1,025 (14%)	287 (18%)	1,312 (15%)
PNDs issued	752	250	1,002
Premises targeted	2,199	484	2,683
At least 1 sale	833 (38%)	231 (48%)	1,064 (40%)
At least 2 sales	174 (8%)	50 (10%)	224 (8%)
At least 3 sales	17 (1%)	6 (1%)	23 (1%)

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.

 

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