Scots get tough on underage sales
Scotland's efforts to get tough on underage sales were ramped up today with the launch of a country-wide test purchasing scheme.
Under the scheme police will use 16 year-olds for sting operations targeting all licensed premises.
The national roll-out follows a pilot scheme in Fife, in which seven premises lost their licence as a result of the crackdown.
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: "This is designed to enforce the law, and to let the police take intelligence led, targeted action to crackdown on irresponsible people who are letting youngsters buy alcohol.
"The police will also be watching out for those who are old enough to buy alcohol but supply it to people who aren't - which is also illegal.
"Responsible licensees have nothing to fear from this. But those who flout the law will face swift and tough action, losing their licence and substantial fines are both options."
Councillor John Cochrane, who chairs West Lothian's licensing board, welcomed the initiative. "There is a very clear message for every licensee to make absolutely certain that they and their staff are checking the age of people who are buying alcohol," he said.
"They have to ask themselves is it really worth losing their license just because they didn't verify a young person's age?"
However the Scottish Beer & Pub Association has questioned the timing of the scheme.
Chief executive Patrick Browne said: "SBPA's members support the introduction of test purchasing in Scotland, but we felt that this should be introduced when the new licensing regime in Scotland is introduced in September 2009, when the laws on the sale of alcohol in pubs are changed.
"We felt that made sense and would have avoided unnecessary confusion amongst licensees and their staff."
He also hit out at the lack of awareness raising among licensees.
"We have been pressing the Scottish government since March this year to launch an information campaign, but so far this has been totally inadequate, and the fact that this initiative is being rolled out for the first time at the busiest time of the year for licensees is also far from helpful."
