Snooker from the Crucible will go ahead in new pilot scheme for sport venues
SMOKING SHOULD be banned outside pubs, cafes and bars to make them more familyfriendly and help high streets recover from lockdown, councils have said.
The Local Government Association is urging peers to support an amendment to the Business and Planning Bill which would make all pavement licences issued by councils subject to the condition that they are smokefree places.
It said that while people who wished to avoid exposure to second-hand smoke could normally stay inside, the coronavirus outbreak meant indoor space was more restricted.
Local authorities need the powers to reflect this and give customers and families the certainty that anywhere they go for a drink or a meal they will not be exposed to other people’s cigarette smoke, the LGA added.
It will also prevent neighbouring shops, particularly in cramped inner-city areas, from being exposed to second-hand smoke, it said.
The LGA said that the measure would also contribute to the Government’s ambition of England becoming a smoke-free nation by 2030, following recent figures which show a continuing decline in the number of people smoking.
ON THE BALL:
SNOOKER FANS will be able to go to the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield to watch this month’s World Championships.
The event has been named as one of four pilot schemes to test the way for the safe return of spectators to elite sport.
The Government says the small number of events in late July and early August will be used to usher in the safe return of spectators to sport.
It is hoped competition venues can be reopened for sports fans, with social distancing in place, from October.
The pilot events are the World Snooker Championships, which start on July 31, the Glorious Goodwood horse-racing festival and two men’s county cricket friendly matches.
Ministers say the events will be a test for the Government’s stage five guidance on the return of fans to elite sports events.
The guidelines include measures that must be in place, including carefully controlled bookings so that social distancing is observed.
Sports venues have been closed since lockdown measures were implemented on March 23.