Countdown to the smoke ban
When does the ban kick in? The ban is expected to go live in summer 2007, but trade leaders are asking the Government to push the start date back to mid 2008 at the earliest, to give pubs enough time to get their premises in order.
How will the ban be enforced? The Government plans to issue on-the-spot fines of £200 for licensees and operators who fail to display no-smoking signs and up to a maximum £1,000 if a case goes to court. A licensee or operator found to be running a pub that is in breach of the ban could be fined a maximum of £2,500. Customers caught smoking on the premises could face fines of just £50.
If we want to make changes to our pub, what's allowed? Specific guidance may not be ready for months. Currently, more details are not expected to emerge before this summer, at the earliest. One of the main points of contention is the exact definition of what constitutes an enclosed space, which would technically be covered by a ban. The Department of Health, which drew up the bill, says it intends to clarify the situation on what form smoking shelters will be allowed to take and has promised to issue more detailed guidelines. Technically, while a
canopy does not currently require planning per-mission, bearing in mind the lessons of Scotland, where individual local planning officers are coming up with their own interpretations of the regulations, nothing is clear cut.
What should I do now? Pubs cannot make proper plans until details of the exact requirements are published. Industry bodies are warning against investing in structural changes to pubs for the time being, until it's clear precisely what will be allowed.
