Smoke free enforcement policy

Doncaster Council has a statutory duty to enforce the smoke free provisions of the Health Act 2006.

In general terms, smoking is prohibited in all enclosed and substantially enclosed premises to which the public have access. Work premises and vehicles used by more than one person are also included. The premises and vehicles to which these requirements apply are defined by the regulations made under the Health Act 2006.

This page sets out the policy of Doncaster Council for enforcement of this legislation and takes into account the Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services (LACoRS) Implementation of smoke free legislation in England guidance for local council regulatory officers. In discharging its duty in respect of the smoke free legislation, Doncaster Council will follow the Environmental Health Enforcement Policy which is based on the Regulators' Compliance Code, a statutory code for Regulators.

The objective of the smoke free legislation is to prevent smoking occurring where people's health could be affected from the exposure to second hand smoke.

Our objective is to implement the smoke free legislation in an equitable and consistent manner. We will apply the law proportionally, to ensure a fair and safe trading environment for members of the public, employees and businesses.

We aim to help businesses and those who smoke to comply with the legislation by raising awareness and understanding of the legal requirements. We will actively work with local businesses to advise on, and assist with, compliance with the law.

The smoke free legislation has four offences that carry a range of penalties, consisting of fines and fixed penalty notices (FPN). The offences are:

smoking in a smoke free premises or vehicle: the fixed penalty is £50 imposed on the person smoking; this is discounted to £30 if paid within 15 days. The maximum fine on conviction for an offence is level 1 on the standard scale (currently £200)
failure to display no-smoking signs: where the fixed penalty procedure is used, the fixed penalty is £200 imposed on whoever manages or occupies the smoke free premises or vehicle; this is discounted to £150 if paid within 15 days. The maximum fine on conviction for an offence is level 3 on the standard scale (currently £1000)
failing to prevent smoking in a smoke free place: the maximum fine on conviction is level 4 on the standard scale (currently £2500 imposed on whoever manages or controls the smoke free premises or vehicle if prosecuted and convicted by a court
obstruction of officers and failure to give an officer of an enforcement authority any facilities, assistance or information reasonably required, including making false statements or someone who gives misleading information. The maximum fine on conviction for an offence is level 3 on the standard scale (currently £1000)

Penalties may be subject to change by the government.
Doncaster Council staff will be responsible for enforcing the smoke free legislation. Authorised officers will be responsible for ensuring that controls on smoking in public places are enforced effectively and consistently.
Doncaster Council work in partnership with other authorities to ensure compliance with the smoke free legislation.

If one of our authorised officers believes you have committed an offence then they may decide to prosecute for the offence. However, a fixed penalty notice can be issued instead, these are not usually offered to someone who has received one before but they are considered in all other circumstances.

A fixed penalty notice is a method of allowing the person who has committed an offence the opportunity to discharge any liability to conviction for that offence. On payment of the fixed penalty notice, we cannot prosecute you for the offence but if payment is not received then we will prosecute you for the offence. Before deciding whether to prosecute, we will consider a number of factors in line with our generic Enforcement Policy, the Code for Crown Prosecutors and any other national guidance concerning the taking of relevant enforcement action. We will prosecute those who fail to pay a FPN.

There is no obligation for an authority to offer an appeals process to someone that may want to dispute a Fixed Penalty Notice (eg: the FPN was served on the wrong person).

In Doncaster a non-statutory appeals process has been established.

An individual can appeal against a FPN directly to the council. The appeal should be in writing to the Fixed Penalty Fine Officer and it must set out the grounds as to why they feel they should not have been issued with a FPN.

The authority will confirm in writing the outcome of all appeals. During this period the fine would be put on hold and no further legal action taken.

Where the recipient of a FPN wishes to challenge the offence for which they have received a notice, they can make a request for a court hearing. This request must be made in writing to Doncaster Council within 29 days of the FPN being issued. The details will be on the FPN.

If you have any comments or queries about this policy please contact the Fixed Penalty Officer: