Speeches by Johnson.

“Q Is there an effect on their concentration or behaviour in class, for example? It is difficult to prove what is in vapes. Again, there are instances of vapes containing illegal substances, but that is difficult to prove, because of their small size and where they can be secreted or hidden. There is evidence out there …”

“Q Good afternoon and welcome. We have heard in the past from headteachers and others about the challenges they have faced in schools with vaping in particular. Can you give us an update on the effects of vaping on children, in terms of school behaviour management, and on their education? Matthew Shanks: That is quite a…”

“Q One of my concerns is that it is quite difficult to identify how old somebody is. People can get themselves into trouble with the law by not being very good at identifying someone’s age, and it is going to get more difficult as this goes forward. Moving away from the age of sale, how will the licensing scheme affect …”

“Yes; what are the challenges in implementing the new regulations? Inga Becker-Hansen: One of the key challenges of age verification is this idea of the rolling age for the smoke-free generation. At this point it is quite identifiable, with those under the regulation being 15, but in 30 years’ time if you have someone w…”

“Q Thank you for coming this afternoon. What do you think will be the challenges facing business in implementing the new age of sale regulations? Inga Becker-Hansen: Good afternoon, and thank you for the opportunity to speak. The question was about age verification, I think—sorry, it is a bit quiet for me here.”

“Q But if you are asking people to ask someone under 30 for their ID, for example, is there any training available to enable young—or old—shopkeepers to identify which people are likely to be under 30? Evidence suggests that people are quite bad at doing that. Wendy Martin: No training exists at the moment, because the …”

“Q Can I ask you about the training available to staff and shops who are being asked to comply with this? We have heard of Challenge 25, where people are told, “If you think someone’s under 25, challenge them just to be on the safe side, because they might be under 18.”, and I have been challenged myself right to the ag…”

“Q I do not think the microphones are working terribly well today. Wendy, do you have any thoughts on the size of the fines? Wendy Martin: Lord Bichard has spoken about the rather varying levels of fines that do exist. The other point worth making is that the issuing of a fixed penalty notice is not automatic anyway. A …”

“Q Thank you for giving evidence this afternoon. Do you think that the penalties proposed by the legislation are too high or too low, or are they sufficient to act as a deterrent? What are your thoughts on that? Lord Michael Bichard: Good afternoon. We will try to be provocative, so we can keep this going until half-pas…”

“Q The last time I was asked for ID —when I was trying to buy a bottle of champagne, an orchid and a punnet of strawberries in a major supermarket—I was 38, so it would seem we are not very good at working out how old people are, or some people are not. We are going to ask people to decide not just if someone is younger…”

“Q My final question is about the verification measures and Challenge 25, which we have heard has been successful in ensuring that children under the age of 18 are not sold such products. I had a look at the evidence for how good people are at establishing how old somebody is. We are often told, “Don’t try to guess some…”

“Q Another question I had was about the research you have done into the effect on pregnant women and children. We heard a little bit on that from the chief medical officers this morning. What effect do smoking and vaping have on the unborn baby and children? Professor Linda Bauld: As you know yourself, it is one of the …”

“Q Thank you for coming today. You have been monitoring and evaluating tobacco control policy and stop smoking strategies for many years. Earlier this year, you said that you thought a variety of things could go wrong with the implementation of the tobacco and vapes legislation. We all want to see people’s health improv…”

“Q You have talked about time. Time can mean lots of different things—weeks, months, years. What sort of timeframe do you have in mind? David Fothergill: The important thing is that we have the right consultation and the right plan for bringing through new trading standards. I think we would be alarmed if you said you w…”

“Q39 Thank you, Sir Mark, and welcome to the witnesses; thank you for coming today. My first question is: do the local authorities have the resources they need to enforce these measures, if brought in? If they do not, what further resources do they need? David Fothergill: I will take that one, if I may. First, thank you…”

“I have heard the hon. Lady but will not give way, because the Deputy Speaker has been clear about the time constraints in the debate. Has the Minister made an estimate of the number of extra admissions caused by elderly people who are cold due to the removal of the winter fuel allowance, what impact that is having on h…”

“I will not, because I have a time limit. I was pleased to hear that the Government will continue many Conservative initiatives, such as expanding the surgical hubs programme and extending the work of community diagnostic centres, but some of the other parts were a little confusing. Patients are to have a choice of wher…”

“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker—a very happy new year to you. May I also wish the grandmother of the hon. Member for Bury North (Mr Frith) a speedy recovery? I should declare an interest as a consultant practising in the NHS. My brother is a GP and I am on an orthopaedic waiting list, so I am one of the statistics. I a…”

“The House has agreed this afternoon that cultural sensitivities should not get in the way of police investigations. However, it would appear that they have and they perhaps still are, and that victims have been let down and that current victims might be being failed even today. There is a specific problem with gangs of…”

“After the confusion of yesterday, I welcome the fact that further details on hospice funding have been announced, albeit by our dragging them out of the Government on the very last day of Parliament before the recess. On 30 October, the Chancellor decided to break her election promise by increasing employers national i…”