A round-up of the weekend's news affecting the hospitality industry...
Complete smoking ban now Government target
Patricia Hewitt, the health secretary, is prepared to introduce a blanket ban on smoking in all public places. It marks a significant shift in Downing Street’s position and means all pubs and restaurants would have to obey the ban. Pubs serving food will have a total ban imposed by the end of 2007, including pub gardens. Smokers will be required to move outside the grounds. – Sunday Times, 19 June
Government denies blanket smoking ban bid
Reports that the Government is set to introduce plans for a blanket ban on smoking in public were strongly denied last night. Reports said ministers were planning to ban smoking in all pubs and restaurants. But the Department of Health said a consultation document to be published tomorrow would go no further than the White Paper issued last November. – Independent on Sunday, 19 June
M&B to trial smoke-free pubs in Grimsby
Mitchells & Butlers, the pub group, is to make its 12 pubs in Grimsby entirely non-smoking for a six-month trial. – The Times, 18 June
Drinks sales fall in Ireland after smoking ban
Drink sales in Irish pubs fell by more than 5% in the first full year of the smoking ban, latest official figures show. John Douglas, general secretary of the Mandate trade union, which represents thousands of bar-workers in Ireland, said the figures showed that claims by pub operators that the smoking ban would cause losses in sales of between 15-25% were exaggerated and only a few hundred jobs had been lost in the bar trade since the ban was introduced. – Irish Independent, 18 June
Punch Taverns favourite bidder for Avebury
Punch Taverns is emerging as the favourite to buy Avebury Taverns’ 450 pubs, according to industry insiders. The deal could be worth about £250m. – Mail on Sunday, 19 June
Westminster Council calls licence crisis talks
Westminster Council said this weekend it had received only 433 applications for a new licence for the 3,600 pubs it covers. Of those 103 were filled in incorrectly. The council is calling an emergency meeting with solicitors representing landlords on Monday. Pubs need to have the new-style licence by 24 November. – The Business, 19 June
Michelin chef reveals cancer operation
One of Scotland's leading chefs has revealed his secret battle earlier this year with a brain tumour. Speaking for the first time since a successful operation to remove it, Michelin-starred chef Andrew Fairlie has told how his natural calm in the kitchen helped him cope with the realisation that he faced death at the age of 42. – Scotland on Sunday, 19 June
No salt and chips once a week call for school dinners
Chips should not be served to pupils more than once a week and salt must be banished from their tables, according to a report that will set out stringent new guidelines for school meals. New nutritional standards for children, to be unveiled on Thursday, will set out the calorie content as well as the nutritional requirements for children aged from five to 18, in a format likely to be adopted by the government as its standard for school meals across England and Wales. – The Observer, 19 June
Three bidders circling Barracuda
Three private equity firms are planning to lodge bids on Monday in the final lap of the £250m race to buy pubs group Barracuda, owner of the Smith & Jones and Varsity chains. Charterhouse, Bridgepoint and Apax are all expected to make indicative offers for the business. – Mail on Sunday, 19 June
Scottish hotel complaints made public
Complaints to VisitScotland, obtained by the Sunday Times under the Freedom of Information Act, reveal an alarming picture of the Scottish tourism industry. Last year more than 1,100 tourists from countries such as America, France, Germany and Sweden returned home disillusioned and angry after holidaying in Scotland. It is estimated that a far larger number never bother to complain. – Sunday Times (Scottish edition), 19 June
Allied restaurant chain is takeover target
Blackstone, the American private equity group, is plotting a fresh bid for Allied Domecq’s restaurant division, which includes Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin Robbins. A deal would cost Blackstone some £1.1b, say analysts. – Sunday Times, 19 June