Remove Red Tape

Wider Hospitality

This covers any additional regulations which affect the hospitality sector. There are a number of measures in this section which relate to the sale of alcohol, including the different quantities in which this can be sold . There are also a series of regulations which put in place rules for topics ranging from fireworks through to venues for civil ceremonies and bathing water quality.

You can find all the regulations that relate to wider hospitality below to the left.

Tell us what you think should happen to these regulations and why, being specific where possible:

• Should we scrap them altogether?
• Could their purpose be achieved in a non-regulatory way (eg through a voluntary code?) How?
• Could they be reformed, simplified or merged? How?
• Can we reduce their bureaucracy through better implementation? How?
• Can we make their enforcement less burdensome? How?
• Should they be left as they are?

106 comments on “Wider Hospitality”

1. Quentin Gallagher on June 1, 2011 at 8:33 pm said:

   Due to various pieces of ill-thought out legislation and the impact of supermarkets, pubs are under threat everywhere and need every source of income. People should be free to make their own choices and the emotive suggestion that children will use vending machines in pubs is absurd
   • Joseph Clift on June 2, 2011 at 9:09 am said:

     Quentin suggests “the emotive suggestion that children will use vending machines in pubs is absurd”. I work for the British Heart Foundation, and we campaigned for vending machines to be removed because the evidence overwhelmingly showed that children do use cigarette vending machines in pubs.

     Recent figures show that 12% of pupils who smoked regularly
     bought cigarettes from a vending machine (source: Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England in 2008). That means that around 23,000 11-15 year old regular smokers access their cigarettes each year through vending machines in England and Wales.

     Recent test purchasing has also showed that buying from vending machines was the most successful way for children to get hold of cigarettes – twice as successful as going to newsagents, off-licenses or petrol station kiosks. (Test Purchasing of Tobacco Products, Results from Local Authority Trading Standards, 1st October 2007 to 31st March 2008: www.lacors.gov.uk) In a test purchase exercise in South West England, 73% of attempts by 15 year olds were successful (Devon County Council, Tobacco Vending Machines – Regulatory and Compliance Survey).

     If you would like to see how easy it is for children to buy cigarettes from a vending machine, you can watch an video filmed by children undercover doing just that: http://youtu.be/KjN4jY_dngA.

     In terms of the idea that pubs “need every source of income” Paul Waterson, Chief Executive of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, is on record as stating in response to the ban in Scotland that “Cigarette vending machines are provided as a service to customers… There is no profit to be made from them. We are not perturbed about these proposals.”

     These regulations are necessary to cut off one of the major sources of cigarettes for children and create a further barrier to smoking for under-age young people. The Government has made the correct decision to commit to implementing the ban from October.
2. Graham Thomas on June 1, 2011 at 10:14 am said:

   The goverment has already been through this process and a legal challenge. It is imperative that if we are to improve the health of the nation, we should look at all preventative measures open to us. Unfortunately children see this as an easy way to access cigarettes. This piece of legislation should not be seen in isolation and together with all of the other ideas within the National Tobacco Plan, has the ability to impact greatly upon the health and wellbeing of a great number within society. The government has already agreed to implement this legislation and any reversal would be a retrograde step in relation to public health in this country.
3. Professor Vivienne Nathanson (Director of Professional Activities, British Medical Association) on May 31, 2011 at 6:42 pm said:

   Prohibiting the sale of tobacco from vending machines is a vital measure in limiting young people’s access to cigarettes and breaking the cycle by which they are eased into the smoking habit. As the government has made a commitment to implement this legislation in its National Tobacco Plan, any reversal on this would be a significant backwards step in its drive to improve public health.
4. Robert Howe on May 31, 2011 at 1:35 pm said:

   Several days ago I heard a Cabinet Minister say that we must improve health outcomes for the population. Implementation of the Tobacco Plan is designed to help achieve this objective and this legislation is key to the government’s commitment to the Plan. The government has already fought and won a legal challenge with regard to this legislation and it simply makes no sense to review it at present. If we are to successfully tackle health outcomes we must tackle the issues at source as is the case with this legislation.
5. Julie Rogers on May 31, 2011 at 1:32 pm said:

   The legislation with regard to sales from vending machines has already been passed through parliamentary processes and has also won and fought a legal challenge. It is also included in the National Tobacco Control Plan and there is absolutely no justifiable reason why should it be scrapped when test purchasing from vending machines by young volunteers has shown that underage children are twice as likely to purchase cigarettes from a vending machine than other usual sources. The government must remain committed to implementing this legislation to protect our children and future generations from starting a lifelong addiction which kills one in two life long users.
6. Andy on May 31, 2011 at 12:49 pm said:

   This country is too much of a police state as it is. Leave the vending machines as they are, if people are prepared to pay the increased costs for cigarettes then that should be their own choice. The machines are located in venues where unaccompained minors are not permitted so the age issue shouldn’t apply.
7. Olena Sawal on May 31, 2011 at 10:28 am said:

   The Government should follow through on its commitment to ban the sale of tobacco through vending machines. This keeps legislation simple and protects children from a source of easy to access tobacco.
8. Ruth Lander on May 31, 2011 at 9:58 am said:

   The Protection from Tobacco (sales from vending machines)
   Legislation is implemented to protect people from harm. If the sale of tobacco from vending machines is allowed to continue then the access for young people to purchase tobacco is greaty increased, therefore increasing their exposure to numerous health risks, life long addition to tobacco, increased risk of future poverty, increasing gap in health inequalities and so on. Thus, it is important that the regulations on vending machines should be left as they are and the Government should continue with its committment to implement legislation to prohibit the sale of tobacco from vending machines.
9. Dustin Hawkes on May 31, 2011 at 8:47 am said:

   The sale of tobacco from vending machines provides a very easy way for children to purchase tobacco. In a recent operation 15 year old volunteers working with the council were able to purchase tobacco from 5 of the 9 target premises.

   This a disproportionate level to what we would normally find when undertaking test purchasing operations.

   The social attitude to tobacco use has changed dramatically since the original controls were implemented on the sale of tobacco from vending machines. Legislation should keep abreast of these social changes and restrict any ways that children are able to purchase tobacco.

   There are many reasons for banning the vending machines and very few for keeping them. As such this legislation should remain on the statute books.
10. Tisha Baynton on May 31, 2011 at 12:10 am said:

    Re:The Protection from Tobacco (sales from vending machines)

    Q.Should they be scrapped altogether?
    A.Why should this be scrapped when the government has already fought and won a legal challenge on this legislation and all the evidence and arguments put forward then still apply today.

    Q.Can they be merged with existing regulations?
    A.No,keep it simple and straightforward. As it stands now, the sale of Tobacco from vending machines only serves to undermine the sale of Tobacco to under 18′s legislation which was brought in to restrict young people from accessing tobacco.

    Q.Can we simplify them – or reduce the bureaucracy associated with them?
    A. If this legislation is implemented then it would make things alot simpler for the Hospitality Industry.

    Q.Have you got any ideas to make these regulations better?
    A.Yes,ensure they are implemented as per the Govts.Tobacco Plan.

    Q.Do you think they should be left as they are?
    A.Yes, Tobaco Control requires a comprehensive approach and this is a vital step nearer to denormalising tobacco for our children and by restricting the access of tobacco for our children we are also protecting them and playing our role in preventing them from starting a life long, dangerous, and harmful addiction.
11. Rebecca Maxwell Macdonald on May 29, 2011 at 9:37 pm said:

    I run a holiday park in a remote part of Scotland we are only open from April 1st – Oct 31st but to be able to sell alcohol (nearest supermarket is 18 miles!) I have to pay the same licence fees, planning applications etc as businesses that are open 12 months of the year. We don’t catch passing trade as we are ‘off the beaten track’ so rely totally on our tourists / holiday makers. They want us to sell alcohol butwe can’t afford to! Surely there could be a concession on turnover or per months of the year trading? The downside of the current legislation is that it also encourages people to drink/drive!
12. Alan Maryon-Davis on May 28, 2011 at 5:42 pm said:

    This regulation is a key plank in the government’s recently published Tobacco Plan and is a crucial step in helping to protect children and young people from the well-known health risks of smoking. Although it has many opponents in the retail trade, hospitality business and tobacco industry, the arguments of the health community, based on robust evidence, have rightly prevailed and have seen off challenge in the courts. The legislation underpins an important government commitment and should be kept in place and intact, without amendment.