Government gets tough on under-age and binge drinking

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called for a “co-ordinated” approach from alcohol producers and the alcohol trade to tackle binge and underage drinking.

In November, the Prime Minister met with drinks manufacturers, doctors, academics, Rob Hayward from the British Beer & Pub Association, David Poley from the Portman Group and supermarket representatives in Downing Street to discuss efforts to deal with unacceptable drinking.

The government said it will press ahead with its review of the Licensing Act. It also said that 24-hour licences will remain the exception rather than the rule.

On 30 November, the Home Office launched a month-long campaign targeting retailers that sell alcohol to underage drinkers and routinely breach licensing laws. The GBP 250,000 “Responsible Alcohol Sales Campaign” looks to reduce alcohol-fuelled violence in the run-up to Christmas and will also target proxy sales.

The Home Office said that plain clothed police officers will be visiting poorly managed premises with a history of alcohol-related violence, crime and disorder.

This summer over 3,000 off-licences, pubs and clubs were subject to underage test purchase operations by police and Trading Standards Officers. Premises that repeatedly sold alcohol to minors had their licenses revoked.

From January 2008, local authorities will be able to charge pubs and clubs extra costs for managing alcohol-related disorder in newly created Alcohol Disorder Zones.