Trader training will make alcohol “Too hard to buy” for under 18s

Oswestry traders are being invited to attend a training event this Thursday 22nd November, to help prevent underage sales.

The training event takes place at 10am and 14:30 in the Council Chamber, Oswestry and has been organised by Shropshire Council Trading Standards and The Co-operative Group and will provide delegates with the tools and knowledge to address and challenge minors attempting to buy alcohol.

This first training event is open to off-licensed premises and further sessions will be provided if there is sufficient demand.

Councillor Steve Charmley, Cabinet member with responsibilities for Public Protection said:

“This training demonstrates the commitment by traders and enforcers to work together in preventing underage drinking and the problems associated with it. It is recognised that the smaller shops may not have the facilities to deliver training to the same standard as the multi-nationals and this event will reduce the gap as delegates are provided with training packs to take back to their stores.”

Oswestry’s Community Alcohol Partnership (OsCAP) is one of several CAP groups in Shropshire created to tackle underage drinking in the county.

Councillor Vince Hunt, local member for Oswestry West and Chair for OsCAP said:

“I would like to thank all of those involved with this event, and those that attend for again demonstrating how important it is to the future health and wellbeing of young people to try to do do the best we can to keep alcohol out of the hands of children. The damage drinking can do at an early age cannot be ignored.”

Councillor Martin Bennett, local member for Oswestry East also commented saying:

“It is getting very difficult to judge the age of young people as boys and girls are physically maturing much earlier, and under pressure from the media and peers to behave in more adult ways. I would urge everyone who can to attend this training which can only benefit everyone concerned.”

Thanks to funding of £90,000, over 2 years (£45,000 per year) through the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) another 2 Community Alcohol Partnership groups have been set up in Bridgnorth in Whitchurch.

This training is being delivered as part of the Oswestry Community Alcohol Partnership (OsCAP) and coincides with CAPs being launched in Bridgnorth and Whitchurch.

Places can be reserved by contacting Sally Jones on 01743 254156 or emailing cap@shropshire.gov.uk

Further information:

Shropshire was 1 of just 10 local authorities in England to have been awarded the £90,000 of the £1million funding from Baroness Newlove, the Government’s Champion for Active, Safer Communities to help give local neighbourhoods the tools to address underage drinking and associated anti-social behaviour.

The 10 successful projects range from county-wide and whole cities programmes, to projects targeting specific neighbourhoods.
In Shropshire the project will initially focus on three public parks in the county which have seasonal summertime issues around underage drinking and associated anti-social behaviour. These parks include:
• Cae Glas Park: located in the market town of Oswestry in north west Shropshire.
• Jubilee Park: located in the market town of Whitchurch in north east Shropshire.
• Crown Meadow: located in the market town of Bridgnorth in south east Shropshire.

The project is being led by Shropshire’s Community Alcohol Partnership (Shrop-CAP), a multi-agency partnership  set up to oversee the scheme which comprises of Shropshire’s Drug and Alcohol Action Team, West Mercia Police, and Shropshire Council’s Positive Activities and Trading Standards team.

The funding will be allocated to each park depending on the specific needs of each area. Activities could include:
• Training, including Licencing and Challenge 25, being made available to licensees.
• Test purchase operations.
• Joint enforcement (police, licencing, trading standards) patrols to increase public reassurance and engagement, and provide support to the alcohol trade.
• Alcohol education and awareness sessions with young people, parents and the community as a whole.
• Alcohol confiscations from minors linked into further support for vulnerable young people and concerned parents.
• Detached diversionary youth activities which will focus upon park based positive activities for young people. 
• Work to bring together a shared understanding and tolerance of all park users, including young people and local residents.
• Proxy purchase campaigns.