Supermarket Alcohol Policy: Help or Hindrance?

The Licensing Act (2003) states that the objectives of restrictive alcohol sales are to prevent crime and disorder in order to maintain public safety and reduce the incidents of public nuisances whilst protecting children from harm. 

Photo: Colognid

It is common knowledge that the legal drinking age in the UK is 18. This legislation also states that an individual knowingly purchasing alcohol on behalf of someone under the age of 18 is breaking the law. 

However, what does the law say in regards to purchasing alcohol from a supermarket, intended for personal consumption, whilst your children are present at the time of purchase? (For instance, whilst on your weekly food shop with your children?)

There appears to be an increasing culture of what the Daily Mail described as "over-zealous supermarket staff" refusing the purchase of alcohol to parents accompanied by their own children. But, is "over-zealous" a fair description? Are they not, in fact, just following the law?

"Workers have been told not to serve adults accompanied by children in the latest crack-down on underage drinking..." the Daily Mail report says. 

"However, diligent shop staff are applying the letter of the law and refusing to serve parents who are on weekly shopping trips with their children".

Diane Binns, 52 from Lincoln was met with a similar refusal to be sold alcohol in her local supermarket earlier this week.

"It seems absurd that a parent should be refused alcohol whilst in the company of their children. I see it as  a judgement on my character and I find that very offensive".

Mrs Binns was refused the sale of a bottle of Rosé wine whilst in the company of her two children (20 and 18), because neither of them had their ID with them when challenged.

A Morrisons spokesperson said: "We have a strict 'Challenge 25' agenda which we uphold throughout our stores".

"We don't have an issue in regards to parents shopping with children; it's legal to do that, we do have a an issue with alcohol being passed from adults to underage children and it is our policy to refuse purchase if we suspect evidence of this".  

The Challenge 25 slogan is "No Proof of Age - No Sale!"

This an identical policy to that of TESCO who say: "We are doing lots of work to try to stop under-age people from being able to get hold of alcohol and one of the biggest problems has become adults buying for people who are under-age."

"If our staff suspect that people are buying for people who are under the age of 18 then we do not serve them."

ASDA have also implemented a Challenge 25 programme which they say "...help[s] colleagues stay on the right side of the law."

It seems that whilst this may appear to be a hindrance to the customer, these policies are in place in accordance with the Licensing Act 2003.

The Challenge 25 scheme, first launched in 2004/5, comes with the full backing of local authorities including the Police and local councils and is something we are all going to have to get used to and be prepared for.

By Benjamin Yates

Sources:

Picture 1: http://www.flickr.com/people/colognid/

Picture 2: http://www.liftoff-festival.com/p/rules.html

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/17/contents

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-566340/Tesco-bans-parents-buying-alcohol-OWN-children.html

http://your.asda.com/news-and-blogs/can-you-guess-their-age

Nottinghamshire County Council Gritting Controversy...

People in the rural areas of Nottinghamshire have expressed concern over the County Council's decision not to grit the surrounding roads; putting hundreds of lives at risk.

Pic: Timothy Hackworth - Flickr

The narrow and unlit roads of the Nottinghamshire countryside have been left out of the Council's gritting plans for the Winter of 2012. The Council's webpage says:


"[We are] spending £2.79 million this year gritting 1,800km of road or 35 percent of the county’s road network... This is more than the Government-recommended amount.  If we were to grit every road, it would cost three times as much, which would have to be funded by Council Tax payers. Road Tax does not pay for council gritting services. We have to strike a balance between keeping critical roads available and the very high cost of gritting roads, which has to be paid for by the public." 

Tax payers in these rural areas argue that they are essentially paying for the safety of those in urban areas and on the Council's gritting routes at the expense of their own safety.

Nottinghamshire County Council's website also says:

"The Council is raising £507 million in 2011/12 from local taxpayers and the Government."

Pic: Ian Britton - Flickr

If the Council was to pay triple the amount it currently spends (8.73 Million) on gritting to ensure that 100 per cent of the County's roads were ice-free; according to statistics it would save money in the long term.


Figures from the County Council's Annual Casualty Report explain how:


"Each year [road accidents] cost to the national economy is in the order of £18 billion pounds...their cost to the community is around £180 million pounds per year and they remain a huge drain on the resources of the NHS and emergency services."

Reports show that between January 1st and January 31st 2009 there were a total of '42' fatalities on Nottinghamshire's roads. 

During this period, according to the BBC's Weather Report:

"Temperatures locally fell below -10C on some nights and the lowest temperatures... fell to -12.3C..." causing severe icy conditions and "some unusually severe frosts."

The question remains: is it only a matter of time before another member of the public pays the ultimate price for the Council's refusal to grit all of its roads?

By Benjamin Yates

Sources:

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/timothyhackworth/3253168445/)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/freefoto/4251848193/

(http://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/home/your_council/financeandthebudget.htm)

 (http://www3.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/travelling/roads/road-design-and-maintenance/winter-roads/)
(http://www3.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/travelling/roads/roadsafety/accident-information/)
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/weather/hi/uk_reviews/newsid_7869000/7869750.stm#england)