Clause 27
Policing and Crime Bill
9:00 am
Alan Campbell (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Home Office; Tynemouth, Labour)
Good morning, Sir Nicholas. One always deeply regrets, when going into an establishment where there is a challenge 21 or challenge 25 sign, that one is too old to be challenged. I want to put on record our support for the challenge 21 initiative and those who have gone further with challenge 25. It forms an important part of the work of retailers and publicans and we want to see it extended as far as possible.
Clause 27 amends the offence of persistently selling alcohol to children from three strikes, to two strikes within three months. The purpose is to reduce the number of times that alcohol is illegally sold to children by increasing the likelihood of being prosecuted if caught selling. A number of questions have been posed with regard to this. First, the hon. Member for Hornchurch is right that the prosecution figures for 2008 are not yet available. However, the pattern to which the hon. Member for Chesterfield referred showed a reduced number of prosecutions between 2006-07, but an increased number of penalty notices being issued, reflecting the flexibility that police officers would have in a circumstance where they might want to use penalty notices where someone was selling to under-age children. That could also reflect the purpose of the clause, which is to say that test purchasing operations can have an effect in areas and retailers can put right the wrongs that they have been doing. That might be reflected, but nevertheless, there is still a persistent problem in some areas, and addressing that is the purpose of the clause.