Asked by: Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the voluntary sector about how they might assist with the roll-out of the alcohol, abstinence and monitoring requirement across England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
The legislation required to introduce alcohol abstinence and monitoring requirements in England and Wales is still subject to approval by Parliament. As yet, we have not had any discussions with the voluntary sector about how it could assist. More widely, we are engaged in ongoing dialogue with the voluntary sector around support for offenders with addiction issues.
Asked by: Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are planning to prohibit powdered and vaporised alcohol in prisons.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
All forms of alcohol are prohibited within prisons. Unauthorised possession of any such item is a disciplinary offence which can result in additional days in prison.
It is a criminal offence under the Prison Act to convey alcohol into or out of a prison or to pass it to a prisoner.
Asked by: Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prosecutions there have been for alcohol sales to those under the age of 18 since the new maximum fine for the offence was introduced; how many such prosecutions resulted in the maximum fine being applied; and how many prosecutions in the same period resulted in fines exceeding the previous maximum.
Answered by Lord Faulks
Fines imposed in individual cases are entirely a matter for the independent courts within the limits set by Parliament and following any relevant sentencing guidelines. The law requires that the amount of any fine must reflect both the seriousness of the offence and the known financial circumstances of the offender.
HM Courts and Tribunals Service takes the issue of fine enforcement very seriously and is working to ensure that clamping down on fine defaulters is a continued priority nationwide. Over recent years we have overseen improvements to the collection of financial penalties. There was a total of £290m collected against fines and related impositions in 2013/14 which was a record high.
In April 2012 the Government raised the maximum fine for the offence of persistently selling alcohol to a person under the age of 18 from £10,000 to £20,000 in cases where alcohol has been sold twice within a period of three months from the same premises.
The number of defendants proceeded against for offences involving sale of alcohol to those under the age of 18 in England and Wales from 2009 to 2013 can be viewed in the table attached.
In this time-period, no offender has been sentenced at any court in England and Wales, to the maximum penalty for the offences of persistently selling alcohol to children; of selling alcohol to a person aged under 18 years, or of allowing the sale of alcohol to a person under 18 years.
Between April 2012 and December 2013 no offender has received a fine above the previous maximum for the offence of persistently selling alcohol to children.
Court proceedings data for 2014 are planned for publication in Spring 2015.