Council officers in Wrexham set to be given powers to hand out fines of up to £1,000 under new minimum alcohol pricing law

COUNCIL officers in Wrexham look set to be given powers to hand out fines of up to £1,000 to enforce a new minimum alcohol pricing law.
The Welsh Government measures, which were introduced at the start of this week, require retailers and any outlets serving alcohol to charge at least 50p a unit.
Health Minister Vaughan Gething said it would tackle “harmful and damaging” drinking of cheap, strong alcohol.
Wrexham Council’s executive board will be asked next week to allow its public protection department to apply the legislation as soon as possible.
In a report, Cllr Hugh Jones, whose portfolio it falls under, said: “The council is responsible for enforcing this legislation within Wrexham county borough.
“Welsh Government is keen to establish an early measurement of compliance and has therefore requested inspections of all relevant premises in the first three months of implementation.
“In the event of non-compliance there are two formal enforcement options available to the council: issue of a fixed penalty notice of £200 (£150 for prompt payment) the payment of which would avoid prosecution proceedings.
“Prosecution; the penalty for which is a level three fine, currently a maximum of £1,000.
“The legislation also makes the offence a relevant offence in Schedule 4 to the Licensing Act 2003.
“This makes it possible for non-compliance to be taken into consideration by a licensing authority when making decisions on granting, renewing or revoking premises licences.”
The Public Health Minimum Price for Alcohol Wales Act 2018 forces retailers to use a formula for working out minimum pricing.
Scotland introduced a similar system in May 2018 which saw alcohol sales drop by around eight per cent.
The biggest price increases resulting from the new law are expected to be for so-called ‘white ciders’ – strong, cheap ciders which are often sold in large plastic bottles.
Cllr Jones said there were approximately 125 premises off licences in Wrexham and the authority would receive a payment of around £61 for each inspection carried out.
Executive board members will be asked to authorise officers to exercise the new powers at a meeting on Tuesday, March 10.

By Liam Randall – Local Democracy Reporter