Licensing application prompts fears children could be sold alcohol in Birmingham

Jasper’s Catering Services, located in Digbeth, is seeking to ‘extend the hours for the Sale of Alcohol’, to operate from 11am until 10pm Monday to Sunday.

However, the application also states that this alcohol would be for ‘consumption off the premises only’, meaning the company would be relying on food delivery apps to take orders and transport the food.

Writing to Birmingham City Council’s licensing department Mark Swallow, of West Midlands Police, said that the use of food delivery apps to provide alcohol carries a risk, as there can be no guaranteed way of ensuring that no persons under the age of 18 are purchasing alcohol.

And he instead suggested that Jasper’s uses its own drivers, or instead waits 24 hours after any order of alcohol before dispatching it.

“As alcohol is a key factor in numerous crimes away from licensed premises the control of its supply has to be fundamentally robust,” he wrote.

“I have given due consideration to this business arrangement and I am not satisfied that this provides sufficient protections that alcohol will not be supplied to either children and young persons or people that are drunk.

“Any alcohol that is supplied will be appropriated when the applicants hand it over to the delivery company. The applicants will have no interaction with the ultimate customers, either at point of ordering or supply. The food delivery companies personnel who take the order and supply the goods will be different.

“To remove the concerns and achieve the licensing objectives I have proposed to Jaspers that a condition be added to the license that either the products were delivered by staff employed by the company or that if delivery app companies were to be used then the delivery takes place at least twenty four hours after the order was placed. This has been communicated to and explained to the company, however, it is not acceptable to them."

The application will be heard next Monday (Dec 14).