Supermarkets face crackdown on underage drinking
Rogue traders targeted with shutdowns
Major supermarkets found to be selling alcohol to underage customers will face snap closures of their licensed trading areas, the government has pledged.
Licensing minister Richard Caborn MP, speaking at [i]The Publican [/i]Conference this week, stressed that the large supermarket operators are as much a target for the government’s crackdown on problem drinking as pubs and smaller off-licences.
Caborn said that stopping under-18s getting access to alcohol is “the most important” goal of the strategy, which is being delivered by local authorities and police forces.
The government has increased the powers of local trading standards officers to carry out test purchases, and given police a range of options including immediate 24 or 48 hours closures.
Responding to concerns raised at the conference that too much of the focus has been on town centre pubs and bars, Caborn said the crackdown would hit ‘rogue’ on- an off-licenced premises equally. He added that the major supermarkets, criticised by many pub operators for selling discounted alcoholic drink, would not be exempt, and the government expects the police to use their powers to close retailers’ licensed trading areas where there are problems.
Caborn said: “It is illegal to sell alcohol to people under 18, it is ilegal to sell to people who are drunk, and we expect all retailers to trade within the law.”
