Hospitality industry backs proof of age scheme

By Sophie Witts

- Last updated on GMT

Thinkstock/TravellingLanes
Thinkstock/TravellingLanes
Hospitality trade bodies are backing a Government scheme to encourage young people to stop using passports as proof of age on nights out.

Half of all lost passports are mislaid in pubs, bars and nightclubs, where the document is at risk of falling in to the hands of criminals.

Her Majesty’s Passport Office has today (21 December) launched a national campaign to encourage people to use alternative identification methods.

These include PASS, a UK age accreditation scheme funded by the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) and the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), which issues a photo ID card.

The BBPA has urged hospitality venues to treat PASS cards the same as driving licenses and passports.

Kate Nicholls, PASS interim chair and ALMR chief executive, said: “The PASS scheme is a fantastic, industry-driven scheme and it is one which we encourage retailers to support.

“Not only are lost or damaged passports an inconvenience, they are enormously expensive to replace. 

“There is an opportunity here for the sector to support its customers and to lead a fundamental change in attitudes regarding acceptable forms of ID. This can only happen if there is widespread acceptance of PASS cards as the preferred form of ID across the UK.”

The Government’s campaign will use posters, letters to stakeholders and social media to raise awareness of the issue.

Brigid Simmonds, chief executive of the BBPA, said: “Pubs want to give young adults the warmest possible welcome, and PASS cards help us to do just that."

For more information on the PASS scheme, click here.

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