Home Office money for PASS
The Home Office has agreed to donate £20,000 to the Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS).
PASS is the national validation scheme for proof-of-age cards and is seen as a vital weapon in combating underage drinking.
The PASS hologram now appears on more than 1m identity cards including Citizen-card, Connexions, Portman Group's Prove-IT and Validate.
"I am absolutely delighted we have secured this funding," said PASS board chairman Robert Humphrys.
"We have been begging for it for two years now and I am just sorry it has taken so long. I am very pleased with it. If we make good use of it there is no reason we can not go back next year and ask for some more."
The money will be used to help produce promotional material for the scheme for display in pubs and shops warning customers that only PASS accredited forms of ID cards will be accepted. The PASS board works on a purely voluntary basis.
"The Licensing Act has taught us that there are a lot of small retailers out there who are not members of trade associations and it is important that we get the message across to them as well," said Humphreys.
Bar Entertainment & Dance Association chief executive Jon Collins, however, questioned the value of the Home Office donation. "The Government should put some proper money into it," he said. "Even if they put in £200,000 imagine what could be done. All venues could be
kitted out with promotional material and training could be provided for staff."
