On 7 June, City of York Council's Executive Member for Neighbourhood Services and Advisory Panel (EMAP) will be asked to approve an enforcement policy for the new smoke-free legislation that comes into effect on 1 July.

In line with government advice, the draft enforcement policy requires officers to give advice and assistance where breaches of the smoke-free legislation are discovered. It is only when this advice is ignored or reasonable effort is not made to comply with the legislation that formal enforcement action will be considered.

Dawn Clarkson, senior smoke-free officer for the council, said: “We’ve produced this enforcement policy to make sure businesses and members of the public know what action we will take if the smoke-free legislation isn’t being followed. The policy has also been agreed with the other councils in the North Yorkshire area to make sure that there is a consistent approach across the region.

“Based on the experiences of Scotland and Wales, we’re expecting to see high levels of compliance after 1 July. For example, Wales went smoke-free at the beginning of April and no on the spot fines have been issued yet. Although we will have an enforcement policy, we hope that there won’t be a need to use it.”

For more advice on the smoke-free legislation visit www.smokefreeengland.co.uk. Businesses and individuals in the York area can also contact Dawn Clarkson on (01904) 551523.