Shops ‘let off’ with underage booze sales

Shop owners and pub landlords across Greater Manchester are being let off with a slap on the wrist for selling booze to under-age children.

Prosecutions for selling to under-18s are falling but more culprits are being targeted with fines, according to figures revealed by the Liberal Democrats.

Figures released yesterday show 117 shop owners or landlords were prosecuted and 127 given a penalty notice, compared with 35 prosecutions and 141 fines in 2007. In total, £10,080 was collected in fines in 2007.

Liberal Democrat shadow culture, media and sport secretary Don Foster said: “The Government continues to turn a blind eye to the horrendous problems that excessive alcohol consumption is creating in our society.

“Yet again ministers have been spending their time competing with the Tories to sound tough rather than trying to effectively tackle the problem of underage drinking.

“The Government said it would crack down on this problem but instead offenders are barely even getting a slap on the wrist. It’s hardly surprising that so many parents are failing to stop children getting their hands on alcohol when unscrupulous shopkeepers have so little to fear from breaking the law.”

The Government needs to make sure that anyone caught selling alcohol to children should expect to lose their licence, he added.

Nationally, the total number of people caught selling alcohol to children has increased by 36% over the last two-year period with 12 people being caught every day. But the chances of being prosecuted have halved with only one in six ending up in court, down from one in three in 2005. Fines of £5,000 can be handed out for selling alcohol to children, but on average, only £369 is imposed.

The figures come as England’s chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson said a 50p minimum price should be put on each unit of alcohol.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he did not want to impose additional burdens on the majority, who were moderate drinkers.