E-Malt.com News article: UK: One million under 18s refused drink in pubs every month

More than one million people a month are being turned away from pubs for being under 18 or failing to have the right proof of age, according to a new study by the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), May 21.

The figures have been released alongside the latest Home Office Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaign, with police forces and trading standards officers currently mounting underage test purchase operations in more than 3,000 targeted licensed premises in the on and off trade.

“This study highlights two critical issues,” said Mark Hastings, Director of Communications at the BBPA. “Firstly, it indicates the large number of under-18s trying on a regular basis to buy drink in pubs, illustrating the scale of the challenge pubs face day-in-day-out. Secondly, it demonstrates that pub staff are playing a vital role in enforcing the law. It clearly shows the enormous effort being applied by the industry.”

The study also identifies the range of heightened measures being used by pub operators to ensure that pub managers, licensees, and bar staff are tackling underage sales and the public are aware of the industry’s determination to deal with underage sales.

Operators have stepped up their formal training programmes for staff, taking action through regular briefings, reminders, till prompts and signage on how to identify and check potential underage customers and the consequences of failure if things go wrong. Many companies are running their own test purchase operations to identify where failures occur and retraining might be needed.

The legal penalties for failure are £80 on the spot penalty notices for bar staff, with pub managers and licensees liable for fines of up to £10,000 and closure of the pub for persistent failure. Pub companies also have in place formal disciplinary measures for staff.

For the past year, the British Beer & Pub Association’s Challenge 21 campaign has been raising awareness of the issue among publicans, their staff and pub goers alike. With this campaign one year old this month, the BBPA and its members have now issued over 200,000 Challenge 21 posters to British pubs. The Challenge 21 message - that if you look 21 or under you should expect to be asked for ID if you try to buy alcohol - now has a strong and visible presence right across the country.

Pubs are working hard to ensure that staff are trained to accept only passports, driving licences and PASS-accredited proof-of-age as a valid form of identification - the Challenge 21 campaign stresses firmly in its posters and other communications that no other form of ID is acceptable.

“While there is always more we can do, with pubs refusing to sell alcohol to over one million young people a month, these figures show the huge effort pubs are putting in to tackle the issue,” said Mr Hastings. “We won’t get it right every time, but these results, along with this year’s success of our Challenge 21 campaign and a host of other measures, show how seriously we are taking this. We will carry on with the campaign, redouble our training programmes and continue to work towards our target of zero test purchase failures.

“At the same time, the sheer number of under-18s being turned away raises some broader issues for the community. Given the scale of penalties we now face as businesses, we need broader support to get the clear message across – if you are under 18, don’t try and buy a drink, it’s against the law. As an industry we would also like to see a greater weight of enforcement being applied to those doing the buying as well as those doing the selling.”

The industry is concerned, that according to Government statistics released on 3 May, only five people were issued with penalty notices for buying alcohol underage.

The British Beer & Pub Association is the UK’s leading organisation representing the brewing and pub sector. Its members account for 98% of the beer brewed in the UK and own more than half of Britain’s 58,000 pubs.

BBPA figures are based on data collected from its member companies. They were asked to report the number of refusals to serve underage customers during the month of March 2007. The number of refusals are recorded as part of many pub companies’ due diligence on underage enforcement.

These figures only apply to the on trade and there will be similarly large numbers refused in the off-trade which also operates Challenge 21.

The Government figures on the number of fixed penalties issued to those buying for underage were released in a written answer, Hansard, 3 May 2007, Column 1888w).

The industry’s Challenge 21 campaign was launched in May 2006, following closely on the campaign run by supermarkets to raise awareness of the critical nature of ID checking when selling alcohol. Challenge 21 aims to make clear to publicans, staff and pub goers alike that if potential customers look under 21, they should be asked for proof that they are over 18 if they attempt to purchase alcohol. The campaign has also been adapted for use in Scotland. The BBPA’s Challenge 21 poster can be found on its website here.


23 May, 2007