How Many St Albans Residents Will Have to Put up "No Smoking" Signs in Their Own Home?

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 2nd Jul 2007

Sandy Walkington, Liberal Democrat candidate for St Albans, has launched an attack on one of the sillier by-products of the new anti-smoking legislation - that if you work from home and more than one person uses the room designated as an office, the current advice is that you are required to display a prominent No Smoking sign at the entrance to the room.

"This is Nanny State gone mad," Sandy Walkington said. "My wife Francesca runs a small architectural practice from our home with one part-time employee. She has received this advice from the Federation of Small Businesses - not that they support it!

"I work from home too. We use what used to be the dining room. It is our home. It is understood that no-one smokes - whether in the office or anywhere else. If anyone wants to, they go out into the garden. It is a listed building and I don't want to put up a No Smoking sign in my own home.

"Home-working is more and more the norm in St Albans as well as elsewhere - allowed by the rise in broadband Internet services. It is more green than driving to a separate place of work and helps sustainability. Of course I support a smoke-free environment. But just for once could we have a law which shows plain common sense?

"Presumably MPs will be in the same position in their homes if they employ their spouse in any way for secretarial and office duties - as many do. It is barking mad and we have no intention of putting up a sign! I hope the law enforcement authorities will have better things to do with their time than enforcing this silly rule."

ENDS

For more information please call Sandy Walkington on 07802 177317