This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/scotland/south_of_scotland/7384192.stm
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Councils 'fail' on youth drinking | Councils 'fail' on youth drinking |
(about 7 hours later) | |
More than a third of councils in Scotland have not suspended a single shop licence in the past five years for sales of alcohol to underage drinkers. | |
BBC Scotland has learned that this is despite one in seven off-licences being guilty of selling to under-18s in the most recent police testing scheme. | |
There are now calls for the current laws to be enforced as rigorously as they are in the US. | |
Four out of five children aged 15 confessed to having bought alcohol. | Four out of five children aged 15 confessed to having bought alcohol. |
When underage children recently tried to buy alcohol from Scottish off-licences, one in seven were caught red-handed. | |
However, the power to suspend the shop's licence to sell alcohol is hardly ever used in Scotland. | |
From information provided by councils which responded to the BBC's questions, just 34 licences have been suspended in Scotland in the past five years. | |
More than a third of licensing boards said they had not suspended any. | More than a third of licensing boards said they had not suspended any. |
In most cases, a typical suspension lasted for two weeks. | In most cases, a typical suspension lasted for two weeks. |
Alcohol expert Prof Thomas Babor said: "Removing a licence is the most effective deterrent to stop off-licences, supermarkets and bars selling to underage drinkers." | |
He said this was essential if drinking laws in Scotland were to be enforced with any success. | He said this was essential if drinking laws in Scotland were to be enforced with any success. |