Tougher Measures on Binge Drinking in England and Wales

New government measures to tackle binge drinking are to be announced today for England and Wales. All alcohol sellers will be required to check the identity of anyone who appears to be under 18, and “irresponsible” pub promotions including happy hours, and "dentist chair" sessions will be banned.

Home Secretary Alan Johnson discussed the new code of practice on Radio 4's Today Programme this morning.Licensees face a maximum fine of £20,000 or six months in prison if they fall foul of the government’s controversial new mandatory code of practice.Other aspects of the failing voluntary code of practice may be made mandatory in the future, but Mr Johnson made clear that these measures were deemed the most important.

On the issue of minimum charges for alcohol to combat loss leader cheap alcohol in supermarkets, the Home Secretary is still looking at the correlation between pricing and consumption, and pricing and violent crime.

The Tories also announced their plans today, proposing a targeted increase in taxation on the drinks that they think are strongly associated with anti-social behaviour, and giving more powers to local authorities and the police to veto new license applications. Chris Grayling, shadow home secretary, also made it clear that the Tories would not be introducing a minimum cost for alcohol which would impact on all,including responsible drinkers.