DBIS consults on code of practice for enforcing age-restricted products rules
The Government has launched a consultation on a new draft code of practice for regulators on the enforcement of rules regarding age-restricted products.
The draft code of practice, which has been developed by the Better Regulation Delivery Office, has four sections:
- prioritisation and targeting,
- working with businesses and communities,
- conduct of checks on compliance, and
- responses to non-compliance.
The code, once implemented, will apply to all local regulatory activities undertaken in England and Wales.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said it would cover “all products for which statutory age restrictions are in place, and all relevant compliance and enforcement activities”.
The code has been designed to provide guidance and resources to help councils meet their duties under the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006.
It also urges local authorities to “take an evidence-based approach to setting local priorities for regulating age restricted products and services”.
The Department insisted that implementation of the the code would neither mean extra financial costs for local authorities, nor impose new requirements on them.
Business Minister Mark Prisk said: “Local regulation needs to deliver the protection that individual young people need, and in doing so, to contribute to better outcomes for local communities, citizens and businesses.
“Approaches to tackling the problem of the availability and supply of age restricted products need to be joined up and reflect all the factors influencing the behaviour of young people. These approaches have to be a shared responsibility for business, regulators, government, parents and young people.”
A copy of the consultation paper can be found here.
The draft code of practice is intended to build on the Age Restricted Products and Services Framework, published by the BRDO’s predecessor, the Local Better Regulation Office, in November 2011.
The framework details an agreed set of shared responsibilities and reasonable expectations for young people, their parents and carers, businesses, employees and regulators with regards to access to age restricted products and services.
Philip Hoult