Bids by Liverpool and London to introduce city-wide smoking bans received a huge boost last week with news that the bills will now receive second readings.
The bills, issued under a local act of Parliament, have been in parliamentary limbo since their progress in the House of Lords was halted in the run-up to the General Election. They have now been revived and will receive second readings in the Lords on 20 July.
The readings will be followed by a five-person committee review in the autumn. The committee has the power to throw the bill out of Parliament.
Liverpool Council says it needs the executive powers required to ban smoking in the city because the partial smoking ban tabled for England will not save the 100 hospitality workers who die in the city each year as a result of second-hand smoke.
* The Office for National Statistics last week released a report showing support for a ban on smoking in public places had increased steadily since 1996, with two in three people now supporting restrictions in pubs and bars.