Twice as many caught serving under-agers

THE number of liquor licence holders caught selling alcohol to under-18s has more than doubled in a year.

Pubs and off-licences accused of selling drinks to underage people increased from 357 in 2006 to 810 last year, new figures show.

Overall, liquor licensing offences soared by 40 per cent last year, with police recording a total of 2,017 offences compared with 1,439 in 2006.

The increase in cases of selling drink to minors reflects a crackdown by police, local authorities and the Scottish Government on the problem, which has been identified as one cause of binge-drinking among young people.

A test purchasing scheme – involving using children to attempt to buy alcohol – was introduced in Fife and extended across the country last December.

Announcing the move, Kenny MacAskill, the justice secretary, promised: "Those who flout the law will face swift and tough action."

The figures, released yesterday, also show a rise in offences of buying liquor for under-18s, 562 last year compared with 416 in 2006.

Police recorded a further 131 offences of youngsters buying drink, or consuming it, in a bar.

Last year's total of 2,017 liquor licensing offences was the highest for at least 30 years, and compares with just 1,332 in 1980.

But despite the 40 per cent increase in offences, the number of cases in which a person had a charge proved against them remained relatively low.

There were 212 convictions for liquor licensing offences. This was a big increase on previous years – there were 173 in 2006, 128 in 2005 and 136 in 2004 – but the figure was way below the total of 784 recorded in 1980.

Of the 212 people convicted last year, one received a custodial or community sentence, 175 received a financial penalty and 36 were dealt with by other means.

There were 17,021 liquor licences operating at the end of last year, 213 fewer than in 2006. More than a third – 37 per cent – were for off-sales and 30 per cent were for pubs.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said tackling alcohol misuse required action on several fronts – including better enforcement of the law.

"We welcome the figures which show a large rise in the number of people being prosecuted for selling drink to people under 18.

"We recognise that some retailers have done much to reduce underage sales, but are pleased that rogue retailers are beginning to feel the combined force of tough action by the police using test purchasing operations and the licensing boards suspending licences."

Margaret Smith MSP called on the government to crack down on retailers who sell alcohol to under-18s.

The government is proposing to raise the drinking age for off-sales from 18 to 21, but Liberal Democrats said ministers should concentrate on enforcing the existing drinking age.

"I'm really disappointed that the number of retailers selling alcohol to minors has doubled in the last year," said Ms Smith.