Councils wind up inspections

Related tags Smoking ban Passive smoking Department of health

Councils are winding down their inspections of English pubs to see they are complying with the smoking ban. New figures from the Department of Health...

Councils are winding down their inspections of English pubs to see they are complying with the smoking ban.

New figures from the Department of Health (DoH) show the number of inspections in September was down roughly one third on August.

And there were almost three times as many checks in July - the first month of the ban - than August.

A DoH survey of 326 English councils - 92% of the total - shows that 4,097 inspections of licensed premises, excluding restaurants and venues with accommodation, took place in September.

An earlier survey of 333 councils showed that 6,024 inspections occurred in August, down from 16,807 in July. The July survey combines findings from two halves of the month - 321 councils were surveyed in the first half and 335 in the second.

A spokesman for local government co-ordinator Lacors said: "Council officers have visited tens of thousands of premises since 1 July, answering any questions hosts might have and giving advice and guidance where necessary.

"The number of visits to premises continues to fall, showing that follow-ups are rarely needed as the majority of pubs, clubs and other workplaces are fully compliant."

Meanwhile, compliance rates hardly changed over the three months, from 97.3% in July to 97.5% in August and 97.9% in September. Compliance rates with the rules on no-smoking signage were 94.2% in September and August, up from 91.3% in July.

A total of 798 written warnings were issued in the first three months for failing to prevent smoking. Five court hearings occurred in relation to breaches of the ban.

There were 5,192 written warnings, 17 fixed penalty notices and two court hearings for not displaying the correct signage.

75% support smoking ban

Three quarters of all adults support the English smoking ban, according to another DoH survey. A study of 455 businesses also found that 86% of firms believe the implementation of the ban had gone well and 78% said it was "a good idea". The survey of 1,700 adults found that 79% believe the ban will have a positive effect on public health. A greater proportion of smokers (47%) support the new law than oppose it (37%).

People gave the top three benefits of the ban as: clothes and hair not smelling after visiting the pub, better atmosphere in pubs, and cleaner air.

Related topics Legislation

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