Underage SalesSouthwark Trading Standards is very active in enforcing the laws prohibiting the sale of certain age restricted goods to underage children. Many types of goods are subject to age restricted sales:
- Cigarettes and tobacco (18)
- Alcohol (18)
- Knives, axes and blades (18)
- Fireworks (18)
- Aerosol spray paints (16)
- Lottery tickets (16)
- Solvents that can be abused (18)
- DVDs, videos and certain console games (12,15,18)
- Replica and lookalike guns and crossbows (18)
If you know of any local shops that are selling such goods to underage children contact us in confidence.
We work to stop underage sales in a number of ways :
- We offer retailers free advice, information leaflets and agecheck point of sale materials
- We offer free training sessions for managers and retail staff
- We undertake educational work with young people to raise awareness
- We undertake covert test purchasing using young volunteers to check compliance
- We prosecute or caution those who make illegal sales
- We can instigate reviews of alcohol sales licenses resulting in suspension or revocation
- We are the only London Borough to have its own proof of age card.
- We have introduced a Good Practice Award to acknowledge responsible retailing and a Knife Charter. Further details are given below.
Our work on tobacco feeds into the local tobacco control strategy (pdf 305kb). To view this document you will need Adobe Acrobat.  Download Adobe Acrobat here for free.
Good Practice Award 
In order to qualify for the Good Practice Award, shops must
- Display statutory warning signs and appropriate point of sale material
- Ensure sales staff are trained to prevent underage sales
- Have a good record on refusing underage sales
Winners receive
- A framed certificate
- A copy of our Code of Practice
- Till stickers and other point of sale material
- An advice pack on proof of age cards
Awarded for good practice
We have awarded 100 local traders for their good practice in refusing underage sales. View a list of our award winners. (pdf 62.4kb).
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Knife Charter for retailers
Our unique Knife Charter aims to promote responsible knife retailing.
Businesses that commit to it are required to think about how they display knives in their premises and consider restricting access to them, for example by using secure cabinets or keeping them behind the counter. They are also required to obtain proof of age from any prospective purchasers who look like they may be under 21 and to make sure all sales staff are trained properly. The use of electronic till prompts and point of sale warnings is also encouraged.
The Charter
Signatories receive a framed copy of the Charter to demonstrate their commitment to community safety and receive free point of sale material on underage sales and the SPA card. Staff training seminars have also been organised. So far approximately 50 retailers have now signed up and our underage test purchasing exercises have shown an improvement in compliance from 50% to 91%.
Moving forward we are now looking to maintain a register of all knife sellers in the borough and will be consulting Charter members on making restricted access to knives on sale a compulsory condition of membership. We are also looking at ways of assisting retailers obtain secure display cabinets.
Contact us
Southwark Trading Standards service
Tel: 020 7525 2000
Fax: 020 7525 5705
tradingstandards@southwark.gov.uk
The Chaplin Centre
Thurlow Street
London
SE17 2DG
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