Alcohol crackdown to be unveiled amid protests on all sides

Published on Sunday 1 March 2009 21:04

A HOST of different organisations, from retail groups to student bodies, were preparing for an all-out battle with the Scottish Government last night as ministers put the finishing touches to their plans for an alcohol crackdown.

Nicola Sturgeon, the health secretary, will unveil the Scottish Government's assault on the country's drink culture in Glasgow this morning.Together with Kenny MacAskill, the justice secretary, Ms Sturgeon will publish the toughest set of proposals on alcohol for decades.

But the plans have generated a storm of protest since they were first suggested last year and The Scotsman understands that some business and drink bodies are already preparing legal teams to dissect the proposed changes in an attempt to force a defeat on the Scottish Government.

Ministers have refused to disclose what would be in the plans announced today and whether or not any ideas have been dropped since the consultation paper on this issue was published last year.

But it is understood that ministers still want to drive ahead with some form of minimum pricing structure for alcohol, for a ban on two-for-one offers and for some kind of restriction on anyone under the age of 21 buying alcohol from an off-licence.

There is less certainty over plans for separate alcohol checkouts in supermarkets and the idea of charging retailers for the costs of the damage caused by alcohol. There have been unconfirmed suggestions that these two policies may be shelved. What does appear clear, however, is that ministers are looking for ways of bringing in the changes as quickly as possible and they may use the 2005 Licensing Act, which is coming into force in September, to fast-track some of the moves and have them in place this year.

Gurjit Singh, the president of the National Union of Students in Scotland, said students had already organised a 10,000-signature petition against raising the age for off-sales purchases to 21.

"This is really ill thought-out and they don't have any evidence as to how its going to work," he said yesterday.

Fiona Moriarty, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: "Given the industry is facing unprecedented changes to licensing laws and the challenging economic times in which we find ourselves, introducing this raft of controversial proposals simply does not make sense."

Ministers, however, remained unrepentant. Alex Salmond berated opposition MSPs last week for agreeing with the principle of cracking down on binge drinking but of opposing every measure the Scottish Government proposed.