4.Section 169(1) of the Licensing Act 1964 (“the 1964 Act”) makes it an offence for a licensee or his “servant” (ie. his employee) to sell alcohol to a person under 18 in licensed premises; for a licensee knowingly to allow another person to sell alcohol to a person under 18; and for a licensee or his “servant” knowingly to allow a person under 18 to consume alcohol in a bar in licensed premises. Current business practice often means that those selling alcohol are neither the licensee nor his employee – for example, they may be employed directly by a company which runs a chain of off-licences or pubs. Prior to the Act, where this was the case and the employee made a sale to a person under 18, the employee could not commit an offence and therefore could not be prosecuted.
5.Prior to the Act, the law did not prohibit an adult buying alcohol on behalf of a child in off-licensed premises. This has been referred to as “proxy purchase”. The Act creates a new offence of buying or attempting to buy alcohol on behalf of a child in any licensed premises. A similar offence has existed in Scotland since 1976. A defence is available if the adult had no reason to suspect that the child was under 18. A parent who bought alcohol and subsequently gave it to his child would not commit an offence. The offence covers those who act as the agents of children in contracting sales. A parent contracts the sale in his or her own right, and is not acting as the child’s agent or go-between to effect the child’s own purchase.