Smoking compromise 'to be dropped'

The Department of Health has formally denied that the controversial 'half-way house' compromise on smoking in pubs has been dropped.

Reports are widely circulating in the industry that the proposal to allow pubs which do not serve food to continue to allow smoking will not appear in the final draft of the forthcoming health bill.

Instead the Cabinet is said to have decided to push through a total ban on smoking in pubs, bowing to pressure from the anti-smoking lobby.

Reports suggest the bill will be published on October 10 and laid before Parliament on October 24.

A Department of Health spokeswoman insisted that the responses to the consultation of the White Paper are still being assessed. The consultation closed on September 7, with around 24,000 responses said to have been received.

No final decision on the content of the bill or the timing of its publication has been made, she said.

Nick Bish, chief executive of the ALMR, said: "If these reports are accurate, this has been a frighteningly short use of consultation time.

"They can't possibly have considered the views of all the people who responded, but the ALMR will try to work with government to ensure that business interests are protected."

Mark Hastings, communications director of the British Beer and Pub Association, said: "We've had no indication yet on either the content or timing of the Bill."

A number of pub groups, including Enterprise Inns and Mitchells & Butlers, have said they believe the 'food or smoking' compromise would prove unworkable in practice.