Anger at smoke ban fines

A last-minute move to massively ramp up the fines awaiting licensees who fail to effectively police the smoking ban has been met with outrage by the trade.

Public health minister Caroline Flint revealed the increases to the proposed fines during last week's debate on smoking, which came before MPs voted to bring in a ban in all pubs, clubs and restaurants in England.

Penalties will include:

• on-the-spot fines of £200 for licensees who fail to display no-smoking signs
• if the issue goes to court the fine will increase to a maximum of £1,000 (up from a maximum of £200)
• the fine for failing to prevent smoking in smoke-free places has been increased from a maximum of £200 to £2,500
• the fine for smokers who flout the ban will stay at £50.
  Announcing the move in the House of Commons, Ms Flint said the increases were being brought in following pressure from campaigners.

"After the debate in Committee, and as a result of lobbying from various organisations and groups, I am minded to propose that the fines for failing to display no-smoking signs should be raised," she said.

"That sends the strong message to those responsible for enforcing the law that they should make sure that they do so."

Nick Bish, chief executive of the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers, said the move smacked of "vindictiveness" towards the licensed trade.

The ALMR would be looking to "challenge the unfair and punitive fines on operators that see someone committing the offence of allowing someone to smoke on site fined 500 times more than the person who actually does it", he said.

"We need to nip this one in the bud now. They are using this as a deterrent to make sure the licensee becomes the policeman of the matter."

Licensees also condemned the move. Yvonne Ward of the Brown Cow in Ackworth, Pontefract, said: "It's ridiculous that we have to police it, and that we could be fined so much if we don't.

"Don't I have enough to do without having to walk around like a headmistress telling people to put their cigarettes out?! This isn't fair at all."

Ms Ward said she had recently carried out her own survey of her customers and had found that 85 per cent of them were smokers.

But Martin Grady at the Redoubt in Wakefield added: "What this does is send a message out to the customer - that there is no chance of you ever smoking in this pub.

"I was speaking to a couple of hardened smokers this lunchtime and they said if it's the law, it's the law."