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.jpg) Councillor George Kay Fife Council's Police Fire and Safety Committee today, Thursday September 4, 2008, approved a major new Age Related Sales Strategy for dealing with all underage sales enforcement issues. Fife Council' has been given funding for three new posts to carry out test purchasing of age restricted products. These are Fife's share of a Scottish Government £1.5 million a year initiative for the next three years to allow Trading Standards teams to fund tobacco sales law enforcement. Consumer Education team leader Geoff Bates highlighted the ways in which enforcement will be carried out which are : * Premises will be targeted for investigation where complaints have been made alleging sales of restricted products have been sold to underage persons. * A programme of test purchasing using teenage volunteers will be implemented to check compliance with age restricted sales legislation. * Premises selling cigarettes, spray paints and fireworks will be examined for the display of the relevant warning notices. *• Cigarette vending machines will be examined to ensure they bear a warning notice and consideration given to which of those machines are vulnerable to use by children under 18 years of age. * • 'Fife Age Restricted Sales Guide' information packs will be distributed to sellers of age restricted products. * • Advice will be provided to sellers on compliance issues. Geoff explained: "All enforcement activities using teenage volunteers will follow the protocols set out in the Scottish Government's document 'A Practical Guide to Test Purchasing'. "All staff involved in enforcement activities using teenage volunteers will be subjected to 'enhanced disclosure' checks. And the safety and well being of teenage volunteers will be the overriding consideration in any enforcement activity." Committee Chair Councillor George Kay said: "I welcome today's decision which is a positive step forward for us and will allow us to build on the excellent work done by our Environmental Services teams. "The strategy is compatible with the Council's priority of Improved Community Safety, Environmental Services Plan's priority of Promoting and Protecting Public Health and the key themes contained within Fife's Joint Health Improvement Plan, in relation to reducing health inequalities and supporting healthier lifestyles. "I hope traders will work with us on this so we don't prosecute anyone. This is a chance for Fife to prove it has some of the most knowledgeable and law abiding business people in Scotland," he added. |
