£10,000 up in smoke for every warning ban

SCOTLAND'S smoking ban enforcers are chronically underemployed with some handing out no penalty tickets or warnings in the nine months since lighting up in workplaces was outlawed.

An investigation by Scotland on Sunday has established that seven councils, between them employing at least 11 full-time enforcers, have failed to issue a single penalty ticket or warning since they began work in March.

The estimated salary bill for this group of workers is at least £220,000, leading to calls last night for councils to slash spending on smoking ban enforcement.

Many of Scotland's 32 councils have issued only a handful of penalty notices or warnings.

Dumfries and Galloway's two enforcers have issued just four warnings, according to the council. With salaries up to £20,000, this means each warning cost taxpayers around £10,000.

Before the ban was introduced on March 26, the Executive handed councils an extra £6m to help pay for an army of enforcers. They were given powers to impose written and verbal warnings or £50 fixed penalty notices on offenders, and fines of up to £200 on pubs that turned a blind eye.

But most observers have been astonished at how uncomplainingly most Scots smokers have adapted. Widespread predictions that many pubs would fold have proved unfounded.

Even opponents of the ban agreed last night that enforcers currently enjoy one of the cushiest jobs in Scotland because the smoking crackdown has been largely self-enforced.

Scotland on Sunday asked all of the country's 32 councils to provide details of how many fines and warnings they had imposed since March 26, and how many full-time enforcers they employed.

According to the councils' own information:

• Aberdeen's sole enforcement officer has not issued any fines and only two warnings;

• Angus employs no fewer than six full-time enforcers who have issued just one fine and 19 warnings between them, an average of just over three each or one each every three months;

• South Lanarkshire has four enforcement officers who have issued just one fine and 17 warnings; and

• Edinburgh has four dedicated wardens who have handed out just one fine each.

Glasgow City Council refused to reveal how many full-time enforcers it employs. But the council admitted around 100 staff were involved in the smoking crackdown and had issued 20 fixed penalty notices and 172 warnings.

But other areas of Scotland seem to be zealously enforcing the new law. In Renfrewshire, officers have issued 118 fixed penalty notices, while Fife has handed out 71 fines and 363 warnings. Graham Monson, one of two enforcement officers in Clackmannanshire who have issued just five warnings and no fines between them, admitted his job had been easier than expected.

He said: "It really hasn't been a problem. My typical day involves going out and checking the premises, seeing if there's been any complaints. I was expecting a bit more but everyone is complying with it."

But he added: "You need to keep on your toes - there's always a need for enforcement. We're still being kept busy. We have to work a few hours each night as well as 9 to 5 every day."

Councils insist there is still a need for the officers because there is more to the enforcement job than merely handing out fines. Additional duties include carrying out surveillance operations and informing the public of the positive aspects of the legislation.

But even supporters of the legislation are now questioning the need for councils to employ the wardens when compliance is so high. Stewart Maxwell, the Nationalist MSP who brought the original bill before the Scottish parliament, called on the Executive to reduce the number employed. "I always thought it would be self-policing. From the start I didn't think that it would be necessary to employ so many enforcement officers.

"A lot of them were certainly doing a lot of work when the ban was brought in, including distributing posters, but I don't know whether this is still the case. People will begin asking: is this a good use of public resources? We don't exactly need them."

Paul Waterson, chief executive of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, said: "We always said pubs would comply. We respect the law, although we don't agree with it. The publicans are the ones who have made it work. Nobody else has made it work.

"I don't see any need for the enforcement officers. The Executive could use the money to compensate the small community pubs that are really struggling because of the ban."

Neil Rafferty, from pro-smokers' rights organisation Forest, said: "They're not necessary in the first place. There's been broad compliance because most people in Scotland are law abiding and don't want to pay a fine every time they go to the pub.

"Councils should not be employing this army of snoopers. It must be the easiest job in Scotland. If I were a taxpayer in some of these areas I'd be very angry that these people are paid to sit around twiddling their thumbs."