Fresh criticisms of alcohol sales plan

Opponents of plans to raise the age for buying alcohol in shops and off-sales today renewed their claim that the change would not solve Scotland's drink problem.

The Scottish Government has put forward proposals to increase the legal age limit for buying drink in off-licences from 18 to 21.

The move is part of a package of measures aimed at ending Scotland's drink culture.

It was suggested after pilot studies were carried out – including one in Stenhousemuir which public health minister Shona Robison will discover more about during a visit tomorrow.

But today the Coalition Against Raising the Drinking Age in Scotland (Cardas) claimed the "true results" of such trials showed "raising the minimum purchase age for alcohol will not help solve Scotland's alcohol problem".

In a submission to the government Cardas – which includes the National Union of Students Scotland and the Scottish Youth Parliament – claimed while the average number of vandalism incidents and calls about youth disorder had fallen, the average number of minor assaults had actually risen during the pilot project.

Cardas co-ordinator Tom French said:

"If the police have conceded – based on the actual results – that these trials were inconclusive, and the official analysis shows this to be the case, it beggars belief that the Scottish Government are still pedalling out mistruths in some attempt to hold together their increasingly shaky case for raising the minimum purchase age."

He added: "The Scottish Government have claimed that it is their job to lead, but a good leader also listens.

"It was shocking that the Scottish Government announced their intentions to raise the purchase age before their farce of a public consultation had ended, and it is worrying that the SNP appear to be ignoring the true results from these trials and the clear evidence from abroad – that raising the minimum purchase age for alcohol will not help solve Scotland's alcohol problem."

Meanwhile Tory community safety spokesman John Lamont said:

"The solution being heralded here is not going to make the required difference."

Mr Lamont claimed Ms Robison's visit to Stenhousemuir would be "the latest propaganda from the SNP in an effort to convince us that their ludicrous plans to criminalise those under the age of 21 who buy alcohol are the way forward".

However he said the project in Stenhousemuir was accompanied by a crackdown on the existing legislation.

And he stated: "No-one is denying that Scotland's drink culture must be tackled – but the solution being heralded here is not going to make the required difference.

"The key is to target problem drinks and problem drinkers and a crackdown using existing laws to punish those who sell to under-age drinkers. The SNP's blanket approach simply does not do that."

Labour also wants to see tougher enforcement of the existing laws. Justice spokeswoman Pauline McNeill said:

"The SNP have mishandled their alcohol plans and they have become a huge distraction from the goal of trying to deal with under-age drinking.

"Labour want to see tough action against those who sell to under-18s including lifetime bans but banning over-18s from off-licenses is not the way forward."

Ministers are carrying out a consultation on their proposals and a Scottish Government spokeswoman said:

"We welcome all engagement with the consultation process, because alcohol misuse costs Scotland at least £2.25 billion every year – it's affecting our health service, our criminal justice system and our economy, and we need to take action now to rebalance our relationship with alcohol."

She added: "We've put forward a series of bold proposals for consultation to tackle the problem of alcohol misuse, including raising the off-sales alcohol purchase age to 21 – based upon a series of highly successful local pilots – as well as minimum pricing for alcohol and a crackdown on irresponsible off-sales promotions.

"When we have clear evidence of successful pilots – which carried the full support of local off-licence sellers, and resulted in a significant decline in anti-social behaviour, we have a responsibility to consult on spreading the benefits across Scotland."

And she said: "The job of government is to listen carefully to a breadth of views and all the interests at stake – and take decisions which promote the wider, national interest."