No one could deny that the Government is desperate to clean

Of course bar staff shouldn't serve under-18s, and most don't. But every licensee would have a better chance of spotting the under-agers if Government had listened properly to the calls for a national proof-of-age card that the trade's been making for years. You just have to look at the number of fake ID cards police found in Cardiff recently to realise what an impossible job licensees have if someone's determined to drink before they're 18.

National ID cards are so controversial that they may never be introduced, so what is the Government doing about helping licensees with the problem of identification? Hoping to recreate the American drinking culture, where everyone is asked to produce ID ­ as Hazel Blears wishes to do ­ is certainly an idea worth exploring. But Government has to commit its support to this project in innumerable other ways, rather than expect the trade to become the engine of social change on its own.

Government should be asking itself what it's doing about getting this under-age drinking message across to youngsters. Where is the drinks education programme that needs to be rolled out in every secondary school across the country? A disproportionate amount of money has been spent warning children against drugs. With so much emphasis on that particular social problem, children could be forgiven for thinking that society isn't too worried about their drinking habits.

Whatever happens on that front will only develop in the years ahead. For the moment, the plans Government announced last week certainly up the ante for licensees and their staff. On-the-spot fines of £80 for serving under-18s will undoutedly concentrate the drinks-server's mind on whether this customer is a legal drinker. All that licensees everywhere can do is redouble their efforts to ensure no youngsters slip under their net ­ and hope they're lucky enough not be fooled.