The more you plan now, the better...

Caroline Flint is under no illusions as to the size of the task ahead of her. As public health minister she is charged with putting England's smoking ban, starting on July 1, into practice.

Quite a task - yet she remains upbeat. "We are excited, but it's a bit scary as well," she says. "We've been told the implementation, in terms of population and in terms of numbers of businesses, is the biggest exercise of its kind in the world."

But speaking to her in her Whitehall office Ms Flint is confident about the legislation and eager to reassure the pub trade that the transition will be smooth.

An introductory brochure has already been sent to 700,000 businesses across the country. In addition, Ms Flint says, for consumers there will be plenty of "indirect marketing" in terms of advertising and PR that will "create the right atmosphere as we build up to July".

"We are also encouraging local authorities to create partnerships with businesses before July 1, which will be very helpful," she adds.

Support for pubs​

So how is the government helping pubs prepare? "We've been trying to find out the difficulties and the problems they will face, through their trade associations," Ms Flint says.

Pubs have also been guaranteed that they will be sent out no-smoking signs by Easter. "Obviously if people want more, they can come back to us," says Ms Flint.

She also urges pubs to sign up to the Smokefree England website, to guide them on the implementation of the ban. But so far she is encouraged by the reaction.

"The number of businesses that have already registered is quite healthy and is increasing everyday," she explains.

For further preparation March 23 is being posted as a key date in the calendar. It marks 100 days before the ban comes in. Ms Flint regards this as significant. "This is a very important date and we will be looking nationally

at how we can communicate this," she explains. "We didn't want to peak too early, but clearly that will focus everyone's mind on the lead up."

Of course, it is hoped that some licensees and their customers will use the ban as a reason to quit smoking. There may even be some publicans who have little choice but to cut down on the amount they smoke.

But will the Department of Health be offering any particular help to pubs? Local health authorities are being encouraged to support businesses to run events about giving up smoking, explains Ms Flint, a former smoker herself. "The ban is an opportunity too good not to be taken advantage of," she adds.

Policing the regime​

With just four months to go, the ban itself may not be causing licensees as many sleepless nights as it once was. But the thought of how local authorities will police the regime - and whether there will be consistency - is a different matter.

Licensees suffered during the implementation of the Licensing Act as councils interpreted government guidance on issues such as when a personal licence-holder should be on site in different ways.

But the Don Valley MP is firm on the issue. "LACORS has produced guidance for local authorities and we want to ensure a broadly consistent approach," she explains.

"We have also had a lot of contact with

local authorities, particularly environmental health officers (EHOs) who will be taking the lead in compliance. Even more importantly, local authorities are out now talking to local businesses in a really helpful and constructive way."

But can she be confident there will be consistency from councils? "Yes, and to be honest if there was anything to suggest there wasn't consistency I think we would know about that very quickly," she says.

She also points to experiences elsewhere. "When I visited Dublin and New York, one thing that struck me was their enforcement officers were quite worried about how they were going to cope with non-compliance. The reality was there were very few examples of it," she says.

A level playing field​

Of course, it wasn't too long ago that the pub trade was worrying about the possibility of a partial ban, with smoking permitted in pubs not serving food and private members' clubs.

"I certainly felt that the best option was to have a level playing field, which would be less bureaucratic, a lot clearer and we wouldn't have to have different regulations for different part of the licensed trade," the minister explains.

But, as we all know, a total ban in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is now reality and pubs everywhere have been left with no option.

So the minister's final piece of advice for pubs? "Make sure you register via the website, so you can get your regular updates, and to ensure you get all the guidance and signage you need," she suggests.

"Secondly, the main message from Scotland and Ireland is that pubs that plan and prepare are in a much better position and are benefiting from the legislation and insuring their business stays steady.

"The more you plan now the more you will be able to cope when the legislation comes in."

To register for updates on the ban, visit: www.smokefreeengland.co.uk

Fine by who?​

The minister stands by the decision to fine licensees up to £2,500 if they allow customers to smoke on their premises - while smokers face a penalty of up to just £200.

Isn't this unfair on licensees?

Ms Flint responds: "If someone is allowing smoking on their premises then they are allowing other people to breathe in that smoke, so they are dealing with more than one individual. It's about employers' responsibility to enforce the law."

But she promises that leniency will be adopted in certain situations.

"We appreciate there may be an individual who comes in and, despite the good intentions of barstaff or the manager, is causing a problem and that's why we have the individual penalty," she explains.

In addition, to address these kinds of issues, there will be a review of the legislation within three years, the minister says.