Written question asked by Anne Snelgrove (Labour) on Tuesday, 31 October 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 2 November 2006. It was answered by Lord Coaker (Labour) on Tuesday, 7 November 2006 on behalf of the Home Office.

Under-age Drinking

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of fixed penalty notices for proxy purchase relating to underage drinking.

Answer: No assessment has been made of the effectiveness of fixed penalty notices for the offence of proxy purchase of alcohol for individuals aged under 18 on tackling the problem of underage drinking. Fixed penalties for the offence of purchasing alcohol for underage consumption were introduced as part of the penalty notice for disorder (PND) scheme established under the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001. The PND scheme, which was piloted in 2002, was rolled out to all police forces in England and Wales in 2004. In November 2004 the scheme was widened to include proxy purchase offences of buying or attempting to buy alcohol on behalf of an individual aged under-eighteen. 84 PNDs were issued for these related offences in 2004; 253 in 2005 and 245 for the first half of 2006 (provisional).

Secondary information