The Home Office has announced reforms to the Licensing Act, which will now be open for consultation from retailers and the hospitality sector.
The Act, introduced in 2005, makes merchants accountable for verifying the ages of their customers to buy age-restricted items, such as alcohol. In today’s climate, e-commerce has rapidly accelerated as the most convenient channel for customer transactions, however, the regulation requires reform to outline how digital identities and technology can play a role in real-life and online age verification.
While retailers are strict with complying with regulations for face-to-face sales, prohibiting certain items from being sold to under 18-year-olds still poses some difficult challenges for verification online. The regulation does not sufficiently cover online retailers who must evaluate their existing capabilities to deliver age assurance from the point of sale to delivery.
Tony Allen, a subject expert on age assurance, said he was “delighted” to see recognition of “the multiple channels for alcohol delivery that exist in today’s marketplace”.
The Act reforms neglect the need for age verification during the point of delivery, which would help improve judgements on whether a customer purchasing alcohol already seems intoxicated or not.
Supermarkets that tend to sell the most restricted items like alcohol or cigarettes also facilitate online services for customers through their delivery app partners.
For online transactions, delivery partners and apps should be additionally responsible for carrying out a further age check to approve the exchange of deliverables. Regulation exists, in particular to prevent circulation of bladed articles. The Home Office says it is aware that if retailers wish to dispatch items to a residential address, they need to enter into an agreement with a delivery company that must ensure the package is not handed to a person who is under the age of 18.
Currently, the Act only sets out requirements to verify age at the point of sale or signing a contract, by the company or the dispatching warehouse.
Self-scan kiosks are also commonplace to facilitate purchases. The Home Office will be continuing to review the proposal reforms of the Licencing Act; the industry is invited to respond to the consultation paper in order to fully cover all areas of improvement in the retail environment. They are calling for evidence that will enhance understanding of what other age-restricted items exist, the problem of selling to minors, and alcohol intoxication at the point of sales.
The Home Office comments stated: “We are reviewing whether this is still right or whether there should be additional age checks at the point of delivery and / or service”.
