Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the the potential merits of updating the Licensing Act 2003 to regulate online alcohol delivery services.

The Government recognises that the way in which people purchase alcohol has changed in recent years, with sales increasingly being made online.

Accordingly, we recently ran a consultation that closed on 30 March this year that requested views on whether the Licensing Act 2003 should be amended to include a requirement for age verification to occur when alcohol purchased remotely is delivered. We also asked for views on whether the Act should be amended to specify that it is an offence to deliver alcohol to someone who is already intoxicated.

We are currently analysing the responses to this consultation and will publish a response in due course.

Home Office officials meet regularly with Alcohol Change UK to discuss the licensing framework in England and Wales.