NewsDigest

The Queen's speech unveiled two bits of good news for pubs. She confirmed the Government intended to go ahead with legislation to reduce regulatory burden on firms and simplify planning. Both measures, which had previously been announced, include having a Local Better Regulation Office to encourage "less burdensome approaches" to regulation.

JD Wetherspoon says bar sales are falling as the smoking ban bites. It reported a 1% like-for-like sales fall for the 13 weeks to 28 October. Growth of 1.4% in total sales was offset by a fall in bar sales and a 0.6% fall in operating margins. However, Wetherspoon believes the ban will be worthwhile in the long term.

Two hosts were forced to pay more than £5,000 each for screening Premiership football in pubs using domestic Sky cards. Patricia Stapleton of the Hope Inn, Staines, pleaded guilty to three offences of breaching the Copyright Designs & Patents Act. She was fined £5,000, with £846.05 costs, by Staines magistrates. Joseph Simmons of the Park Tavern, Passey Place, London, was fined £4,500 with £710.42 costs for three offences at Greenwich Magistrates Court.

Walkabout operator Regent Inns has warned that profits could be hit if England fail to qualify for football's 2008 European Championships. In an interim management statement, Regent was "cautious" in its outlook for its entertainment bars and warned the smoking ban would have an effect. Regent was confident investment in Old Orleans would deliver growth. Crucial games for England's qualification hopes are on 17 November (Israel v Russia) and 21 November (England v Croatia).

Courage Best will be the official beer of darts for the coming year. It has signed up for two major darts tournaments: 2007 PartyBets.com Grand Slam of Darts and 2008 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship. Tiered seating at Alexandra Palace for Ladbrokes' event will be named the Courage Stand.