Demands for a national proof-of-age card have resurfaced after a crackdown on underage sales in Manchester showed 80 per cent of off-licences were guilty of serving children alcohol.
The trading standards crackdown in Manchester targeted shopkeepers using test purchasing, which involved sending in 15-year-olds to buy alcohol. Only a handful of shopkeepers in the area turned the boys away or asked to see identification.
A spokesman for the charity Alcohol Concern praised the Greater Manchester crackdown but said the Government must now introduce a national proof-of-age scheme.
"Test purchasing acts as a deterrent against premises repeatedly selling alcohol to those under 18," the spokeswoman said. "Proof-of-age cards should also be part of a strategy to tackle under-age drinking."
Trade leaders have been campaigning for such a card for some years after fears that fake cards were rife.
In November licensees teamed up with MPs to introduce a national standard format for all proof-of-age cards in a bid to stamp out sales to under-18s.
The PASS logo will now be introduced onto all proof-of-age cards to help stamp out forgeries.
Card schemes that qualify for the logo must include a photograph of the holder and the date-of-birth etched onto the card so they cannot easily be faked.
Related stories:
National standard proof-of-age card unveiled (1 November 2001)
National proof-of-age card "by the end of the year" (20 July 2001)
Trade takes proof-of-age card scheme into own hands (18 July 2001)
Age card confirmed in writing (07 June 2001)
Government to trial age cards (31 May 2001)