It is understood that will include a proposal to increase the age for buying booze in off-sales and supermarkets to 21.

The announcement comes in the same week it was reported children as young as 10 years of age were receiving rehabilitation for alcohol abuse in Scotland as well as elsewhere in the UK.

Local councillor Ian Murray said; "The referral system has been hugely successful, and it's good that the police are doing something about this. 

"But ten-year-olds (being referred] is utterly extraordinary – these children will have gone to alcohol counselling, which is severe.

"It's a worry for everyone, but these are the extreme cases. There is still an issue with underage drinking in south Edinburgh. The vast majority of youngsters who drink get their alcohol from off-licences, get someone to buy them it, or get it from their parents."

Earlier this month, the Evening News revealed that 11 Lothian children aged 12 and under had to spend at least one night in hospital due to drinking alcohol in the year to last April.

Those figures were described as "chilling", while experts warned that children who start drinking so young run the risk of developing serious problems in adolescence.

Edinburgh's outgoing drugs and alcohol tsar, Tom Wood, a former Lothian and Borders deputy chief constable and a supporter of the decriminalisation of cannabis, said the scheme was an "interesting experiment", which avoids "criminalising" youngsters.

"Normally, it's from the age of 13 onwards. This problem has been around for some time, but we are now prioritising it."

Better late than never.