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One in three off-licences selling drink to children

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Published Date: 22 April 2008
A CRACKDOWN on off-licences found one in three of those targeted in Lothian and Borders selling alcohol to underage customers.
Test purchasing – where young volunteers go into shops and bars to see if they will sell them alcohol – found youngsters were able to buy booze in 17 of the 51 premises visited in the area.

That put Lothian and Borders at the top of the table for
illegal sales to under-18s.

The Scottish Government announced in December that test purchasing was being deployed across Scotland in a bid to curb illegal drink sales.

Now figures show staff sold alcohol to youngsters in 14 per cent of off-sales targeted.

Of 632 test purchases carried out in off-sales across the country, alcohol was sold to youngsters in 87 cases. The Conservatives described the situation as "unacceptable".

Tory justice spokesman Bill Aitken said local licensing boards needed to toughen up in their attitude to licensees selling drink to underage buyers.

He said: "Much of the trouble in Scottish communities is caused by underage drinking and the vast majority of this drink is obtained from off-sales rather than public houses.

"Licensed grocers have a particular responsibility to be vigilant and some of them are clearly being negligent. Anybody who knowingly sells alcohol to young people under the age of 18 should have their licence revoked.

"For those who get a second chance and still fail, there must be questions as to whether they should ever get a licence again."





The full article contains 259 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 22 April 2008 9:59 AM
  • Source: Edinburgh Evening News
  • Location: Edinburgh
 
1

Alternative (High Octane) Fuel Head,

Edinburgh 22/04/2008 12:15:37
Headline in the Scotsman:

"One in seven off-licences..."

Headline in the EN:

"One in three off-licences..."

Either they are making the figures up or the whole thing is being conjured up out of nothing.
2

Peter - very disappointed/concerned,

Edinburgh 22/04/2008 12:33:26
Why doesn't the EEN 'name and shame' the shops which are found to be 'negligent' or more likely those who are just prepared to break the law to put up their profits?
3

Alternative (High Octane) Fuel Head,

Edinburgh 22/04/2008 12:56:44
#3:

Ahh!! They can't do that! Good God! Whatever next?? Asking someone who makes an allegation or puts forward a conjecture to actually back it up with hard evidence is both un-reasonable and irrellevant.

Haven't you learned yet that you must ALWAYS take their word for it because nanny knows best?
4

Skint and Appalled,

on top of Old Smokey 22/04/2008 13:03:42
I thought I had read previously in EEN that a certain Grocers on the Bridges had their liquor licence suspended as they had been caught selling alcohol to children - passing this shop regularly, they are certainly still advertising alcohol and its on their shelves! Maybe i was wrong......... or maybe no-one cares!!!!
5

Raoul Duke,

22/04/2008 13:07:48
Whats the big deal? They're going to get it anyway, and if kids dont get their hands on alcohol then they'll just turn to harder stuff as a substitute.

Question: If the gov succeed in their efforts to halt the selling of alcohol to minors, will this lead to no further increases in cost for all over 18s? Surely this is only fair, given that the cheapness of alcohol is apparently the root of the underage drinking problem...
6

Peter - very disappointed/concerned,

Edinburgh 22/04/2008 13:21:45
#4 Alternative (High Octane) Fuel Head

"The Scottish Government announced in December that test purchasing was being deployed across Scotland in a bid to curb illegal drink sales."

Presumably these checks are carried out by the police or Trading Standards Officers? If so then their findings are surely more then just 'allegations'.

I wonder if some shopkeepers are playing the 'racist card' when caught out?
7

A Friend of Fernando Poo,

, Newington 22/04/2008 13:41:38
Can't the EN get the names of the shops concerned through Freedom of Information legislation? If the EN would publish a list, we could spread a boycott of the shops and put them out of business.

If the Licensing Committee won't do their job properly, we can damn well do it ourselves...
8

antifa,

22/04/2008 13:48:01
#1 That's because The Scotsman is talking about Scotland as a whole whereas EN is talking about Lothian.

Sorry to have to nanny you like this.
9

tomias,

Edinburgh 22/04/2008 14:31:54
Ice cream vans identifies as well; Yes drink as well as drugs- lets all go to Penicuik Folks !

 

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