A round-up of the weekend's news affecting the hospitality industry...

Muslim prisoners given pork described as halal
Muslim inmates at Belmarsh high-security prison in south-east London have threatened legal action after being offered spicy pork chops as their halal meal. The prisoners  are now refusing to eat any meat from the prison menu. The Prison Service said the chops had been described as halal because of an administrative error. – The Times, 21 August

London restaurants increasing in quality rather than quantity
The quantity of new restaurants is being replaced by quality in London according to the latest edition of Harden's Guide to London Restaurants, due out next month. The guide will say that between 1995 and 2000, the capital saw an almost continuously increasing rate of restaurant openings. – Daily Telegraph, 21 August

Center Parcs wins funding to invest in expansion
Center Parcs has secured a new funding facility from landlord Sun Capital, which will enable the expansion of its four sites over the next three years. Center Parcs will pay £12m towards the expansion. – Daily Telegraph, 21 August

Speculation on Hilton split of hotels from gambling
Profits before tax for Hilton this year are expected to be £170m, against £110.5m last year. Hilton will also confirm when it reports interim results on Thursday the long-awaited recovery in its 400 hotels, which will spark speculation that the firm could demerge its hotels and gambling businesses next year if the hotel recovery is sustained. – The Observer, 22 August

Planned UK marine centre may attract two million visitors
The world’s largest aquarium, stocked with thousands of endangered species and enclosed in two giant domes, is being planned for a site in Britain. It is intended to become one of the biggest tourist attractions in Europe with up to two million people a year visiting. Possible locations are the Welsh end of the Severn Bridge, Merseyside docks and a clay pit near Bedford. The first visitors could be admitted by 2009. – Sunday Times, 22 August

Conran considering total smoking ban in restaurants
Smokers will be banned from the majority of British restaurants by the end of the year, with four out of five expected to be smoke-free within two years, according to industry insiders. Gordon Ramsay will next month ban smoking at all seven of his London restaurants, and thousands more are expected to follow suit. Terence Conran is considering "very carefully" whether to ban smoking completely. His restaurants currently favour separate seating for smokers. – Independent on Sunday, 22 August

Yates may bid for Laurel
Yates Group is considering a bid of about £110m for the Laurel Pub Company, the owner of the Hog's Head chain. A successful bid would more than double Yates's pub estate to about 330 pubs. But Yates’s faces fierce competition from rival groups and venture capital buyers, as well as Laurel's own management team. – Sunday Telegraph, 22 August

NHS hospitals criticised for having fast food restaurants
Southampton General Hospital has been criticised by an all-parliamentary group on obesity for having a Burger King franchise on site when the NHS is encouraging the nation to eat less fast food. A spokeswoman for the hospital said: "We don’t like it and it is clearly embarrassing, but we have to put up with it." Other hospitals which have Burger King franchises include Addenbrooke’s in Cambridge. – Mail on Sunday, 22 August

Dublin hotels achieve higher room rates
Dublin hotels are having a better summer this year, with room rates and occupancy both up in July. Average room occupancy was 76.1%, an increase of just less than 1% on July 2003, while the average room rate improved by almost 5% to €110.52. This has brought the average yield per room to €84.16, up by 5.6%. Yet yields are still 4% below the same period in 2002. – Irish Independent, 21 August

Buy this week's Caterer magazine for more industry news and analysis