§ Mr. EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of incidents of minors purchasing alcoholic beverages(a) in Lancashire and (b) in the UK in the last 12 months.[90723]
§ 2000. Mr. DenhamThe number of incidents of minors purchasing alcoholic beverages in Lancaster, or in the UK as a whole, is not collected centrally. However, some information is available from the Department of Health's annual, nationally representative school survey looking at smoking, drinking and drug use among young people aged 11 to 15 years old in England. Questions were last asked about purchasing alcohol in the 2000 survey. The results are shown in the table. All information relates to England. Estimates for Lancashire are not available.
Where children usually buy alcohol Percentages 11 to 15 year olds In a pub or bar 9 In a club or disco 7 From an off-licence 17 From a shop or supermarket 9 From a friend or relative 17 From someone else 8 I never by alcohol 46 Base N (all pupils who drink now) 3,952 Note:
Percentages total more than 100 because pupils could give more than one answer.
Source:
The Home Office Court Proceedings Database does contain statistics on the number of prosecutions and convictions for offences of buying and selling intoxicating liquor to underage. However, due to the small numbers of incidents proceeded against, it would not give an accurate picture of minors purchasing alcoholic beverages.