A Carlisle politician has said "something has to be done fast" to establish a system that gauges how well businesses are complying with Covid-19 rules.

David Shepherd, Conservative Party Carlisle City Councillor for the Longtown and the Border ward has spoken of his desire to see a ratings system put in place scoring venues on their success in following the Government's guidelines on operating during the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Shepherd is keen to see a system put in place akin to the food hygiene ratings system, which gives an establishment a score of between zero and five depending on how well it follows food safety standards.

Criteria for the food hygiene ratings system is laid down by the Food Standards Agency, a non-ministerial Government department, and inspections are carried out by local authority officers.

Local authorities across the country have now been given powers in law set out by Westminster to take enforcement action against establishments that are failing to comply with Covid-19 rules.

But as Mr Shepherd pointed out, there is not currently a standardised system which can be used by potential customers to judge which venues are following the guidance necessary to minimise any risk of transmitting Covid-19.

He hoped that such a system would be introduced soon.

"Everybody I've spoken to seems to think it would be a good idea," he said.

"Pubs I've talked to are very much behind the idea."

Mr Shepherd said that a ratings-style system would be particularly useful for people who are less familiar with a particular area.

"I think it would be of particular benefit to people visiting Carlisle, who don't know the pubs in the area.

"They might not be entirely sure which locations they can trust. This would help them with that."

He added that such a system is unfortunately necessary given that some venues are failing to comply with the guidance.

"There are some pubs that are all but going overboard in making sure that they are complying with all of the necessary guidelines on keeping staff and customers safe," he said.

"But some pubs are doing nothing. It's a massive problem that we've got at the moment.

"There are certain people who are taking no notice of the situation that we're in right now, and are carrying on as if nothing has changed.

"Something has got to be done, and it's got to be done fast."

As lockdown was first relaxed, national tourism body VisitBritain introduced a self-assessed "We're Good To Go" industry standard for venues to certify they were following Covid-19 guidelines.