Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the arguments advanced by industry interests for the repeal of restrictions on the sale of liqueur confectionary to children under the age of 16; and what benefits they foresee will accrue for children from taking such actions.

The proposal to repeal the offence of selling liqueur confectionery to those under the age of 16 was developed following the Government’s consultation on the Red Tape Challenge.

Under the ‘Dangerous and restricted goods’ strand of the Retail Theme respondents were asked to comment on possible areas of deregulation in 24 separate acts, of which the Licensing Act 2003 was one. The desire for a simplification of age restricted sales was identified as a strong theme amongst responses, though the proposal to deregulate the sale of liqueur confectionery was not specifically referenced in the consultation. Retailers currently have to comply with a variety of regulations across a range of age-restricted products, and this proposal is one of a number of proposals in the Deregulation Bill aimed at simplifying legislation related to age-restricted sales.

The purpose of this repeal is to remove unnecessary burdens from businesses. There is no evidence to suggest that children consume liqueur confectionery for the purposes of intoxication and we do not expect this to change as a result of this repeal.