ACS

The latest Responsible Retailing Forum, held in Bristol on 13 March, showed that the convenience sector is at the forefront of tackling under age purchases. Lesley Brown, who runs Frankmarsh Stores in Barnstaple, explained to the Forum about the measures she has introduced to ensure that her and her staff stay on the right side of the law. She trains all staff with BII qualifications and has two qualified Designated Premises Supervisors, and she also links to local trading standards officers to share information on proxy purchasing and other issues. This good relationship with local agencies means that Lesley welcomes measures like bottle-marking schemes to identify the source of alcohol consumed by young people in public, and ensures that when her store passes a test purchase (it has never failed one) she is told about it and can use the success to boost staff awareness and morale.

Tim Pearce from Plymouth & South-West Co-op gave even more examples of best practice when he told he forum about the measures his business has taken to raise the profile of responsible retailing among staff at all levels. Induction training on this subject now takes place before the staff member makes a single sale, there are till prompts for all staff when a sale of alcohol is made and when they sign on at the start of a shift, and the Challenge 21 message is being built in to fixture design – a sure sign of the company’s commitment to this policy. Staff are at the heart of Plymouth & South-West Co-ops efforts, and they are supported by training on managing conflict situations as well as being treated firmly by being given an immediate final written warning if an illegal sale is made.

Jonathan Bayne from Musgrave and Sharon Sawyers from Bristol Trading Standards talked about their job swap, where they worked together to understand each other’s roles in more detail. Sharon explained that the experience illustrated just how hard it is for retailers to refuse young people, especially when their attempt to buy alcohol or tobacco is accompanied by abuse and intimidation. Jonathan encouraged more retailers to work with agencies in this way. Another excellent example of collaborative working was given by Stephen Hogg, who was running the Retailing of Alcohol Standards Group project to tackle alcohol-related problems in St Neots, Cambridgeshire. This project has used partnership working with schools, the local authority, the local MP, local media and neighbourhood policing teams to tackle the broader problems of alcohol-related crime and anti-social behaviour, rather than focussing solely on enforcement against retailers.

As part of ACS’ objective to hear from all sides of the debate, the forum also heard a presentation from Don Shenker, Acting Chief Executive of Alcohol Concern. Don explained Alcohol Concern’s desire to see a range of approaches taken to tackling alcohol issue, including more regulation of pricing and marketing, as well as public health and education initiatives to ensure the public are aware of the serious consequences of alcohol misuse.

The forum ended with a summary of upcoming regulatory issues surrounding tobacco – from Deirdre Healy of Imperial Tobacco – and on alcohol from Shane Brennan of ACS. Experience in the Republic of Ireland and Scotland, Deirdre suggested that a raft of new tobacco legislation will be moving into the whole of the UK over the next few years, including the potential banning of packs of 10 cigarettes. Following the Government’s review of the Licensing Act 2003, even tougher enforcement can be expected around alcohol sales – something that members at the Responsible Retailing Forum need not fear if they follow the excellent best practice shared at the event.

The next Responsible Retailing forum is on Wednesday 9th July at Hilton Birmingham Metropole - ACS members can book their free place by ringing Sarah C Johnson on 01252 515001. (Non-members are welcome also, click here for more details)