Gov’t opens consultation on digital age verification for alcohol sales

The government has opened a consultation on whether digital age verification should be used for alcohol sales in convenience stores and for home delivery.

The role of the consultation, which closes on 30 March, will examine whether technology has a place in age restricted sales of alcohol in retail and hospitality, as well as whether to “amend legislation in order to specify that for sales of alcohol that do not take place face to face, age verification should take place at the point of delivery as well as sale.”

It added that any appropriate use of new technology could help improve the experience for both consumers and retailers. Copies of the consultation paper have been sent to various organisations for feedback, including the ACS, Trading Standards, Drink Aware and the Wine and Spirits Trade Association.

The government said: “Discussions with stakeholders in the hospitality, retail and licensing sectors, as well as policing, suggest that there could be considerable support for the use of digital identities as well as technology to help to establish if an individual is old enough to purchase alcohol.

“The government is committed to enabling the widespread use of trusted digital identity solutions across the UK economy as a matter of personal choice. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is creating a framework of standards and governance, underpinned by legislation to provide this trust, so that people and businesses know what a good and secure digital identity looks like.

“This will allow people to choose to prove their identity digitally with ease and confidence, as an alternative to using the physical documents we are more familiar with. Digital identities will not be compulsory, but the government is working to ensure that digital identities are inclusive and accessible for all those who choose to use them.”

The government conducted a trial of digital age verification for alcohol and tobacco purchases in 2022, with three Bestway stores participating. Each store had specialised cameras at the till which examined a customer’s facial features. A notice was then flagged up on a screen to instruct the member of staff to ID the customer.