Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire (): The Government is today
launching a consultation on whether to allow digital identities
and technology to play a role in age verification for alcohol
sales, as well as whether to amend legislation in order to
specify that for sales of alcohol that do not take place face to
face, age verification should take place at the point of delivery
as well as sale.
The Licensing Act 2003 (‘the Act’) covers the retail sale and
supply of alcohol. One of the licensing objectives that the Act
seeks to uphold is the protection of children from harm, meaning
that alcohol must not be sold to someone under 18. Secondary
legislation made under the Act specifies that if anyone appears
to be under 18, they need to produce identification which bears
their photograph, date of birth and either a holographic mark or
ultraviolet feature. In practice this means that currently only
physical identity documents are permitted.
The Government is keen to enable the secure and appropriate use
of new technologies that can improve the experience of consumers
and retailers. However the current wording of the Act does not
allow technology to play a part in the age verification process
for alcohol sales. A person must make the decision on whether an
individual is old enough to purchase alcohol.
We are therefore consulting on whether to amend the Act so as to
allow digital identities and technology to play a role in
age-verification. The need for robust national standards for
digital identities and technology remains paramount in order to
provide confidence to retailers and consumers alike that they are
fit for purpose. Any change would reflect the wider
cross-Government position on the use of digital identities and
technology for the sale of age-restricted products and will only
take effect once there are government approved national standards
in place.
We are also considering whether the Act adequately covers
transactions that do not take place face to face. Currently the
Act only sets out a requirement to verify age at the point of
sale or appropriation to a contract, not at the point of
delivery. We are reviewing whether this is still right and
whether there should additionally be checks at the point of
delivery and / or service. We are consulting on whether to amend
the Act so that it is explicit about when age verification must
take place.
The consultation will run for 8 weeks and the Government will
publish its response in due course. A copy of the consultation
will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses and published on
Gov.UK.
