Lord Young of Cookham leads calls for smoking ban in outdoor seating areas of venues

Calls are being made for the Government to ban smoking in the outdoor seating areas of hospitality venues in England.

The move is being led by Lord George Young of Cookham as part of an amendment to the Levelling -Up and Regeneration Bill which would require all pavement licenses to be smoke-free.

During a debate on the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill in the House of Lords on Wednesday, September 13, Lord Young of Cookham said the change would contribute to the Government’s ambition to make England smoke-free by 2030 – which he said it is currently on track to miss by nine years according to Cancer Research UK.

He explained that under the current pavement licensing rules, which covers hospitality venues with outdoor seating and pavement areas, council’s have two options to consider in relation to pavement smoking.

These include to apply the national condition ‘to make reasonable provision for seating where smoking is not permitted’ or to go a step further and make 100 per cent smoke-free seating a condition of venues at a local level.

In his speech, Lord Young of Cookham said: “I have previously welcomed the current requirement, secured only after pressure from Members in both Houses who objected to the original proposal, which had no provision for non-smokers.

“But, although where we are is better than what the Government originally proposed, it does not go far enough.”

Lord Young of Cookham added that the amendment also has the support of the Local Government Association, which has stated that 100 per cent smoke-free pavement licenses ‘sets up a level playing field for hospitality venues across the country’ and provides a health benefit to the public of ‘protecting people from unwanted second-hand smoke’.

He said: “Under the current system, implementation of smoke-free conditions is highly inconsistent across the country, meaning that non-smokers, children and hospitality staff will continue to be exposed to second-hand smoke.

“That is why Dr Javed Khan OBE’s independent review of Smokefree 2030 policies, commissioned by DHSC and published last year, recommended that smoking be prohibited on all premises, indoors and out, where food or drink is served, as well as a ban on smoking in all outdoor areas where children are present.”

Lord Young of Cookham added that this recommendation has ‘strong public support’, with two-thirds of people who were polled in 2022 by YouGov for Action on Smoking and Health, saying ‘they wanted smoking banned in the outdoor seating areas of all restaurants, pubs and cafes’, with less than one in five people opposing the ban.

“Some councils are doing what the public want, with 10 councils in England introducing 100% smoke-free requirements,” he added.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has been contacted for comment.