News In Focus
3 October 2008
Off-licence age proposal defeated, but SNP defiant
First Minister Alex Salmond has reaffirmed his commitment to the SNP's proposal to prevent under-21s from buying alcohol in off-licences, despite MSPs voting against the move yesterday.
The policy, which would allow 18 year olds to buy alcohol in pubs and bars but not from off-licences and supermarkets, is expected to be included in legislation that will be brought before the parliament in the next few months. Mr Salmond said that he still believed it was the right way to tackle Scotland's drinking problem.
MSPs defeated the motion by 72 votes to 47, with all opposition parties voting against. The proposal has been condemned by student groups, retailers and drink manufacturers. Ministers put their case on local pilot schemes that ran in different areas of Scotland, where the sale of alcohol to under 21s in off-licences was banned at certain times.
A spokesman for the First Minister said the Government was very confident that such a move would work. Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill added that he wanted to try new approaches to tackling Scotland's drink problems, which resulted in hospital treatment for some 40,000 people a year and a fast-growing incidence of alcohol-related liver disease.