Pubs face £10K fine in new underage clampdown
Pubs could be forced to close for three months or pay a £10,000 fine following a tough new clampdown on underage sales expected to be brought in next month.
Under the measures, which The Publican understands will be introduced on Good Friday (April 6) as part of the Violent Crime Reduction Act, pubs found selling to minors on three occasions within three months will be in the line of fire.
The clampdown will go hand in hand with a new enforcement campaign targeting pubs for underage sales starting in May and continuing throughout the summer.
Pubs found selling to minors could be caught out in a number of ways. A conviction, formal caution or a fixed-penalty notice will all count as an offence.
James Hilton, licensee at the Horseshoe in Matlock Green, Derbyshire, is angry about the new penalties.
"We would lose our business if we were shut down for three weeks, let alone three months," he said.
"These measures are extreme - it's sometimes very difficult to qualify a person's age and some use fake IDs. It's just another government stealth tax."
At present, under the Violent Crime Reduction Act, police can shut down a venue for 48 hours that is found persistently selling to underage drinkers.
Sarah Barnaville, licensee at the Old Yew Tree Inn, in Derbyshire, argued that closing down a pub for three months would put many out of business.
She added: "We do all we can to prevent underage sales through things like staff training, but sometimes the underage stings are just underhand."
Hamish Lawson, head of licensing at legal firm Cobbetts, warned operators of big estates to be particularly on their guard against the new measures.
"If you are an operator of a big estate you may not always know if someone has been issued with a warning or fixed-penalty notice," he said.
A Home Office spokesman refused to confirm a date for the new measures.
Trade association representatives have been called to a meeting at the Home Office on March 28 for a briefing on "forthcoming activity".
