ACS

The Policing and Crime Bill, which contains powers to introduce a mandatory code of practice for alcohol retailers, will have its Second Reading in the House of Lords today.

Second Reading gives Peers the opportunity to debate the principals of the Bill, which also contains provisions to toughen sanctions for drunks and young drinkers.

This Code, the details of which are still being consulted on, would create a set of mandatory conditions and new signage requirements for all alcohol retailers, as well as selection of local discretionary conditions that a licensing authority could chose to impose on a group of local businesses. The set of local conditions include making Challenge 21 compulsory as well as certain obligations surrounding CCTV, incident logs and dispersal policies. There could also be a condition which could restrict off-licenses from offering bulk discounts on large amounts of alcohol, such as over 2 litres of spirits or 27 cans beer and 12 bottles of wine. The Government are also consulting further on conditions relating to a ban on below cost selling and local conditions relating to training.