Speeches by Dickson.

“The amendment is not intended to change the way that the current legislation relates to individual vehicles, merely the activity happening within them, and that currently permits smoking in open-top vehicles with the hood down, i.e. unenclosed. The amendment does not propose any change to that.”

“The police currently have responsibility to enforce a whole range of activities that take place within a car, such as mobile phone use. It would in no way be a new concept for the police to enforce something of this nature. If they saw someone in a car with a cigarette, they would be able to stop the car and apply a pe…”

“The hon. Gentleman is making his point very articulately. The idea that smoking legislation is an overreach is not new. Just about every change over the last 30 years—changes that have helped to cut very significantly the number of people affected by smoking-related diseases—has been described as an overreach. A lot of…”

“I thank the hon. Member for those comments; I will do my best to answer them. Compliance with the measure is still not where we would like it to be: the last survey undertaken by an independent company on behalf of Action on Smoking and Health indicates that 9% of 11 to 15-year-olds say that “they travel in a car with …”

“I beg to move amendment 10, in clause 136, page 77, leave out lines 26 to 29 and insert— “(a) for subsection (1A) substitute— ‘(1A) The Secretary of State must, no later than the end of the period of 6 months beginning with the day on which the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2025 is passed, lay draft regulations to be made unde…”

“The Minister has given a very comprehensive response. I suspect that the suggestion that this might be a way forward might come up in the consultation when that happens in the coming months. For the moment, I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.”

“Certainly, public spaces are not going to change, but smoking prevalence is; it may be that as, a result of declines in smoking prevalence, the public acceptance of smoke-free areas may change. I am sure that the Minister will have a useful contribution to make in response to the hon. Gentleman’s point when he speaks. …”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way. He is making a number of very good points, but will he respond to the notion that smoke-free areas are all about making smoking less attractive and so giving people incentives to quit? Does he accept that that might give people incentives to quit and therefore be a significant…”

“That is indeed a good question. Consistency is clearly desirable: it is easier for the public to understand and it makes enforcement easier. However, there are councils already leading the way in that area, and it is a question of the needs of the community covered by that local authority. We know that smoking is parti…”

“Perhaps I can try to answer a couple of the questions from the hon. Lady and other hon. Members. If a byelaw were enacted, it would need to be well publicised, and there would need to be signage. Clearly, it would be impossible for a local authority to enforce a byelaw against which the defence was, “We had no knowledg…”

“rose—”

“We are straying from the point a little, but is the hon. Gentleman aware that the Premier League will shortly initiate a shirt front ban on gambling sponsors? His examples of free advertising and sponsorship of gambling will probably be out of date soon.”

“The data will be available publicly to anyone who wishes to look at the information. The companies may feel that that is a competition issue and try to make that case, but publishing the information for everyone to use, particularly public health authorities and trading standards, will be helpful in contributing to our…”

“Of course, occasionally there would be outlets for which the data is less useful, but if we looked at outlets in deprived areas—shops on estates, for example—and saw an uptick in a particular type of product being bought in the area, I think we could make a reasonable assumption that those products were being consumed …”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd. Amendments 6 to 9 stand in my name and I will endeavour to speak to them quickly in the light of the discussion we have just had. The amendments would require the Secretary of State to make regulations that, in turn, require the producers of tobacco products and …”

“I can deal with that very quickly. We would be looking for the companies to publish the data they collect, broken down geographically, and to give us an idea of the volume of their sales, including of particular products. That is all information they hold already; we are merely suggesting that the Government should req…”

“I thank the Minister for his very comprehensive response. I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Clause 96 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clauses 97 and 98 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Ordered, That further consideration be now adjourned. —(Taiwo Owatemi.)”

“I beg to move amendment 6, in clause 96, page 54, line 24, leave out “may” insert “must within six month of the passing of this Act”.”

“I, too, thank my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Dr Opher) for securing this really important debate, and for his thoughtful and incredibly insightful speech on one of the biggest health challenges that our country faces, as many Members have said. After a week’s delay, I am glad that we are now able to have this de…”

“I thank the Minister for her reply. Swanscombe pavilion in my constituency is at the heart of the Swanscombe community. It hosted dedicated lunch clubs for older people, provided a hub for local sports teams, and was a venue that local people could hire for parties. The building has fallen into disrepair, and the town …”