Under 18S

[weecalf]

Amber is gonna stop the sale of acid to under 18s . Should it not be over 18s as well ?

[youngmafbog]

Be interested to see how that is implemented.

Why over 18's too? Do you never want to buy a car battery ever again?

[Bazile]

Yes to all - unless you can demonstrate that you have a good reason for requiring it

[Bazile]

Is the sale of acid strictly controlled at the moment ?

[youngmafbog]

And what about alkaline products?

They can be just as damaging if they have a high pH.

[Gromit]

I am surprised that under 18s are not already prohibited from purchasing dangerous substances.

Is there really not already a law against this ?

Or is Rudd promising something that is already covered ?

[New Judge]

The sale of acids was actually deregulated in 2015. Until then they came under the 1972 Poisons Act and sellers had to register with their local authority. Vendors of the most dangerous substances or those dealing in large quantities also required a licence from the Home Office.

Instead sulphuric acid and hydrochloric acid are now included on a separate list of “reportable substances” that do not require a licence. Instead of having to register with their local council, sellers of “reportable substances” are merely required to tell authorities about anyone buying a substance “if the supplier has reasonable grounds for believing the transaction to be suspicious”, such as if there is a suspicion the chemical is “intended for the illicit manufacture of explosives” or “any illicit use”.

In my view it’s doubtful if restricting sales among minors will have any significant impact on illicit use. Those under age will always find somebody old enough to "help them out".

[Gromit]

Bleedin Hell, the truth is more bizarre than you could imagine.

There were good strong laws, but the Conservative's relaxed them 2 years ago.

// The Government ignored expert advice and made changes in 2015 that made it easier to buy dangerous acids that have been used in a spate of attacks in recent weeks, The Independent can reveal.

Changes made in the Deregulation Act 2015 scrapped an obligation on sellers of dangerous substances, including acids, to be registered with their local council. The move was opposed by medical experts, who warned that it could make it easier for criminals to get their hands on highly toxic substances, and by the Government’s own advisory board on the regulation of hazardous chemicals.

Ministers boasted at the time about “cutting red tape” but are now under mounting pressure from MPs and campaigners to re-tighten laws to make it harder for people to get their hands on highly concentrated acids. //

[Gromit]

So in effect, Rudd is performing a U-Turn on Conservative Policy to chamge a mess of their own making.

[youngmafbog]

Just out of interest is there anywhere that details the type of acids being used in attacks and where they 'potentially' came from?

[cassa333]

And why not put right what they got wrong? Do you expect them to just ignore it?

Admittedly they should have listened to the expert advice but we don't know what other factors were at play then.

Is it largely the under 18s who use acid in these attacks?

I would imagine it is easier to chuck a cup of that over someone's face and run for it rather than getting up close and personal with a fist or knife fight.

[albaqwerty]

oh, I get it now, Amber Rudd
do wish OP's would make it clear what on earth they are on about.

Sales of any dangerous substance should always be regulated, I seem to recall that you once had to sign a book when buying meths.

[youngmafbog]

Personally I dont think any laws on banning purchases will stop this.

Acids and alkaline are widely used in domestic products. So a youth may be banned but presumaly lives in a house where mum cleans the bog so corrosive substances will be available. Perhaps the best hope is to ban really strong ones but then we will all be left with blocked drains or have to pay a licensed drain cleaner to sort it out.

Once again it looks like the majority will be hit by a sledge hammer Act rather than tackle the underlying issues of feral youths.

[douglas9401]

Is this from the same political playbook as selling paracetamol and ibuprofen in packs of 16 to stop folk killing themselves with tablets?

I have it from a health professional that 10 x 500mg paracetamol will do just as good a job as fifty but there's much less likelihood of vomiting.

[Gromit]

// The move [to deregulate] was opposed by the Government’s own advisory board on the regulation of hazardous chemicals. //

They ignored their own advisors, and now a short while later, they are having to tighten it up again. An utter shambles, and then they have the audacity to present this at the Party Conference as a bold new, getting tough policy. No wonder they are a laughing stock.

[EDDIE51]

Alkaline or caustic substances are just as, or even more dangerous than acid. Caustic Soda (Sodium Hydroxide) is sold as drain cleaner it is far more dangerous than acid. The news reports say 'acid' to get the desired outraged reaction from viewers or readers.
As said, a car battery contains Sulfuric Acid , so are we to stop sales of car battery's or other Lead / Acid battery's? Most golf carts have Lead / Acid battery's that are a lot bigger than car battery's. Are we going to stop swelling them as well? Not to mention battery power fork lift trucks which have battery's with 4 or 5 gallons of acid in each of them. More things to ban.
This is just a meaningless gesture to show that the government are ''doing something '' about the problem. It will be totally useless at stopping the attacks.
The way forward is to make 'acid attacks' the same as knife attacks which have a minimum 5 year prison sentence. People use acid as a weapon as they know the sentence will be a lot less than if they get caught using a knife.