Licensing Act 2003

148 Sale of liqueur confectionery to children under 16

(1) A person commits an offence if he—

(a) sells liqueur confectionery to an individual aged under 16, or

(b) supplies such confectionery, on behalf of a club—

(i) to or to the order of a member of the club who is aged under 16, or

(ii) to the order of a member of the club, to an individual who is aged under 16.

(2) A club commits an offence if liqueur confectionery is supplied by it or on its behalf—

(a) to or to the order of a member of the club who is aged under 16, or

(b) to the order of a member of the club, to an individual who is aged under 16.

(3) Where a person is charged with an offence under this section by reason of his own conduct it is a defence that—

(a) he believed that the individual was aged 16 or over, and

(b) either—

(i) he had taken all reasonable steps to establish the individual’s age, or

(ii) nobody could reasonably have suspected from the individual’s appearance that he was aged under 16.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (3), a person is treated as having taken all reasonable steps to establish an individual’s age if—

(a) he asked the individual for evidence of his age, and

(b) the evidence would have convinced a reasonable person.

(5) Where a person (“the accused”) is charged with an offence under this section by reason of the act or default of some other person, it is a defence that the accused exercised all due diligence to avoid committing it.

(6) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale.

(7) In this section “liqueur confectionery” has the meaning given in section 191(2).