The Home Office last month released a consultation on ending the requirement for a personal license to sell alcohol. Currently alcohol sales must be authorised by a personal licence holder who holds an accreditation and has undergone a criminal records check.
The Home Office say that the system is not targeted as "all premises, from the riskiest to the quietest, must comply with it", and abolishing it could save some businesses significant costs in training, application fees and criminal records checks as a result. As an alternative, the consultation document suggests that:
"[Licensing] conditions added to premises licences could provide a better and more targeted way of applying these [personal licence] safeguards. Licensing authorities and the police would have a more flexible tool at their disposal over which they had local control."
However Alcohol Research UK is concerned that the proposal removes key safeguards without first establishing an evidence base. They say they are not aware of any research which demonstrates that abolishing statutory training will improve responsible retailing practice, nor that removing the universal requirement for criminal record checks will improve security or safety in the industry. Alcohol Research UK therefore have urged the Government to provide more evidence on these aspects before proceeding.
The consultation closes on 7th November 2013.
The Government is also currently consulting on changes that could result in national alcohol survey data to be axed.
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