We are very sad to learn today (Wednesday 8 January 2014) of the death of former Northern Ireland and Home Office Minister Paul Goggins, MP for Manchester Wythenshawe & Sale East. A good ally both of CitizenCard and the 'No ID, No Sale!' campaign.  The Prime Minister this morning said Paul was 'kind and brilliant'. The Leader of the Opposition replied that the Labour Party had lost 'one of its best'. We offer Paul's wife, his three children and his friends and constituents our sincere condolences.

The No ID, No Sale! Campaign, run by CitizenCard, celebrates its 10^th anniversary by launching today (Tuesday 19 November)  a new pack and a new website www.noidnosale.com.

The pack contains a Statutory Tobacco Notice, window vinyl, poster, a Manager’s Guide, refusals register, CitizenCard application forms and dispenser, and a new message aimed at young adults likely to be asked for ID – ‘it’s not personal, it’s the law’.

No ID, No Sale! campaign co-ordinator Andrew Chevis explains:

“Shop staff have an essential job preventing attempts by under-18s to buy alcohol, tobacco and other age-restricted goods.  The new message is displayed on the materials so that the customer understands that they are not being targeted when asked for ID.”

James Lowman, ACS Chief Executivewelcomed the new message:

“ACS members take their due diligence on underage sales very seriously, and this new pack provides useful tools to help staff on the front line comply with the law.  Customers understand that ID checks are not personal whereas the penalties for illegal sales are very personal.”

Paul Baxter, NFRN Chief Executive, speaking at NFRN’s National Council in London, added:

“The new pack is a vital tool in helping newsagents to demonstrate their responsibility in preventing underage sales.  Sadly some of our members have been subject to abuse or worse when asking for ID, whereas those selling tobacco illegally face no such threats.”

Packs are available free of charge to ACS, NFRN, SGF members and other independent retailers from the campaign website www.noidnosale.com and items such as the Manager’s Guide and Refusals Register can be downloaded from the site.

CitizenCard is hosting a series of ‘No ID, No Sale!’ meetings at this year’s party conferences on the theme of preventing underage sales.

MP Tom Brake will chair the Liberal Democrat CitizenCard fringe meeting on Monday 16th September, 13.00-14.00, La Rotunda, 28 Tunnel Street, Glasgow, G3 8HL. Speakers will include David McNeill from Young Scot, Janet Hood a Licensing Solicitor, Adrian Roper from NFRN and Jaine Chisholm Caunt: Director of the TMA.

MP David Hanson will chair the Labour CitizenCard fringe meeting on Monday 23^rd September, 12.45-14.00, Regency Restaurant, 131 Kings Road, Brighton, BN1 2HH. Speakers will include Jo Player from Brighton & Hove Trading Standards, Paul Baxter from NFRN and Jaine Chisholm Caunt: Director of the TMA.

MP Stuart Andrew will chair the Conservative CitizenCard Fringe Meeting on Monday 30^th September, 12.45-14.00, Gio’s Restaurant, 3-7 Lower Mosely Street, Manchester, M2 3WS. Speakers will include Darrell Wilson from St Helens Trading Standards, Paul Baxter from the NFRN and Jaine Chisholm Caunt: Director of the TMA.

Trading Standards officers have called against a shop after a 15-year-old girl bought cigarettes at the store.

The volunteer was sent into Barnett news, in Waterloo Road, Burslem.  The worker failed to ask for any ID and she successfully bought a packet of 10 cigarettes.

Trading Standards officer Charlotte Coleman, who helped carry out the sting said: "The male who served the volunteer was on his mobile all the time".

"At no time did he look at the volunteer or ask her for identification." Conditions could now be attached to shops licence, including better training and a refusals book.

Sharon Taafe, of health improvement at Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: "It os vitally important we concentrate efforts on reducing the availability of tobacco to young people."

The licensing sub-committe will consider the breach on Monday September, 2.

The Sentinel 23.08.13

Andrew Chevis, Citizencard Chief Executive said “Over the past year 13% of applications for a PASS card have been rejected.  Often people have just been careless and failed to follow basic requirements.  Common mistakes are failing to sign the card; submitting a photograph that does not meet PASS requirements or applications verified by someone who is not eligible.” 

 “We do receive a small, but significant, number of fraudulent applications.  People naively think that we will take their submission on trust but we check everything.  Dates of birth are cross referenced with the national birth register and we always ring referees to confirm that they really have endorsed the application.” (see below for Case Studies)

 “Our staff can smell a fraud a mile off and they take enormous pride in ensuring that no one slips through the net.  And to date, no fraudulent card has ever been found in circulation.”

Chevis adds “We don’t want to disappoint people and we give them three opportunities to get it right.  But if they cannot provide robust evidence of their identity and their age, they will not get a CitizenCard.  In the end, it’s in their interest that people have total confidence in PASS cards”. 

PASS Chairman, Robert Humphreys said “I would like to thank CitizenCard for publishing this new analysis which highlights the very stringent standards  that apply to anyone applying for a PASS card.  All PASS card issuers are regularly audited by Trading Standards to ensure that they are meeting the very demanding quality criteria laid down by the PASS Board.    

 “People who hold a PASS card have the right to expect that it should command total trust from retailers, door staff and police.   Our rigorous quality standards are one of the ways that we build this credibility.”

Case Studies

• A 19 year old girl from Scotland forged a signature on her photograph. It was a good forgery but of course it came to light when we rang the referee who told us that she had not signed the picture. This was a particularly stupid mistake as she only did it to save time but made things even more serious by forging a police officer’s signature. 
• A 16 year old boy from the West Midlands who had photoshopped his birth certificate to change his year of birth from 1996 to 1994.  This was revealed when we cross checked his birthday with the date on  record at the General Register Office, which is part of Her Majesty's Passport Office.
• A 17 year old boy from Lincolnshire who forged a teacher’s signature.  When we rang the school, there was no teacher with that name on the staff. 

CitizenCard is a proof of age and identity card operated by a non-profit company owned by ACS, Camelot, Co-Op, Experian, Ladbrokes, NFRN and TMA.  Bearing the PASS hologram CitizenCard is well-established as the UK’s most widely-recognised ID card.  Accepted by virtually every retail outlet as valid ID, the card (now available as a Visa prepaid card) displays a date of birth and an age band allowing holders to prove that they are young enough or old enough to access age-restricted goods and services.  For more information visit the Citizencard website http://www.citizencard.com/

The Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS) is the industry-led national proof of age accreditation scheme, supported by the Home Office, ACPO and the Trading Standards Institute (TSI). There are currently five national schemes and twelve local schemes which are licensed to issue cards bearing the PASS hologram. Only cards schemes which meet the stringent standards required for PASS accreditation are licensed to apply the PASS hologram to their cards.  Accredited card schemes are audited on a regular basis by Trading Standards Officers to ensure that they comply with PASS requirements.  For more information about PASS visit http://www.pass-scheme.org.uk/