Home Office written question – answered at on 3 June 2026.
Joshua Reynolds
Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Investment and Trade)
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring (a) age and (b) intoxication verification both at (i) the point of order and (ii) the point of delivery for alcohol sold through delivery applications.
Sarah Jones
The Minister of State, Home Department
The Licensing Act 2003 provides the legal framework for the sale and supply of alcohol in England and Wales. It is already an offence, under section 141 of the Act, for a person to knowingly sell or attempt to sell alcohol to a person who is drunk or underage, or to allow alcohol to be sold to such a person.
The Government recognises that consumer purchasing habits have evolved in recent years, particularly with a notable growth in alcohol sales made via online platforms and rapid delivery services. The Department for Health and Social Care, which has responsibility for policy on health harms, and the Home Office are looking at how current licensing rules apply to these services and monitoring emerging evidence on the impact they may be having on people’s health and the upholding of the licensing objectives. To this end, I will shortly hold a roundtable jointly with the Minister for Public Health and Prevention to consider solutions with healthcare professionals and other experts in the field.
Yes1 person thinks so
No0 people think not
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Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
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