Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 8 December 2015 (HL3861), what assessment they have made of why, when the UK ranks number one in tobacco control activity of 34 European countries, nine other European countries have lower levels of smoking prevalence.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
Countries use different ways to assess smoking prevalence within their population and there is variation as to whether they include daily, weekly, or occasional smokers within the figures. It is therefore not always possible to compare smoking prevalence rates directly between countries. In contrast, Joossens and Raws’s Tobacco Control Scale in Europe, which ranks the United Kingdom as number one in tobacco control activity of 34 European countries, uses a set criteria to assess the implementation of tobacco control policies across European countries, enabling a direct comparison to be made between the countries of tobacco control measures.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 3 December 2015 (HL3859), which tobacco measures introduced in the last 10 years they have reviewed in respect of their effectiveness; what have been the results of those reviews; and whether they will place those measures and their reviews in the Library of the House.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The Department assesses the impact of tobacco control measures on an ongoing basis as it develops policy and considers new measures.
In September 2013, the Department published An Audit of the impact of the Department of Health’s Regulations upon business. A copy of the report is attached. The Audit report covered all regulations for which the Department has responsibility believed to have a potential cost to business, including those relating to tobacco control.
Costs and benefits were estimated where possible using standard government methodology and the impacts to society were estimated based on economic costs and benefits. As advised in the report, there is a robust cost-benefit case for the tobacco control regulations considered and experience shows that initiatives to reduce smoking prevalence work best in combination, with cumulative effects over time.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 8 December 2015 (HL3862), what legal basis the World Health Organization's treaties have in English law.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
Where the United Kingdom is party to a treaty which is in force, the United Kingdom government must comply, as a matter of international law, with its obligations under the treaty in good faith. This is required by the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.
Where a particular obligation under a treaty has not been implemented in domestic legislation it does not directly form part of English law and the English courts do not have jurisdiction to apply it. However, there is also a strong presumption in the common law that all domestic legislation will, where possible, be interpreted so as to ensure that the United Kingdom is acting compatibly with its treaty obligations.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which contracts awarded by the Department of Health have conditions within them relating to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and in each case, whether legal advice was taken before the issuing of that tender.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The Government takes its obligations as a Party to the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) very seriously, including the obligation to protect public health policy from the vested interests of the tobacco industry.
The Department considers the detail of Invitation to Tender (ITT) and contract documentation, including the legal aspects, on a case by case basis. The standard documentation includes a requirement to declare actual or potential conflicts of interest and some ITTs make specific reference to FCTC obligations.
This issue is considered as part of the evaluation process and through the contract monitoring process as appropriate.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Department of Health has sought independent legal advice in respect of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and if so, whether they will place a copy of that advice in the Library of the House.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
Any legal advice the Department may have obtained in respect of this, or any other issue, is subject to the usual provisions relating to legal professional privilege and as such will not be disclosed.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what legal basis the WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control has in English law.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is an international treaty establishing general guidelines and principles for international governance on tobacco control. The United Kingdom ratified the Treaty in 2004 and takes its obligations under the Convention very seriously.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the link between rates of smoking prevalence and the level of tobacco control, as measured by the OECD.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The Government considers international comparisons of tobacco control produced by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and other organisations, such as Joossens and Raw’s Tobacco Control Scale in Europe, which ranks the United Kingdom as number one in tobacco control activity of 34 European countries.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact that the EU Tobacco Products Directive will have on the independent retail sector in the UK.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The Department assesses the impact of all proposed measures before laying legislation using standard government methodology. These assessments are set out in Impact Assessments which are scrutinised by the Regulatory Policy Committee before publication alongside the Statutory Instrument. Impact Assessments specifically look at the impacts on small and micro businesses including retailers. All of the tobacco measures contain commitments to further review the impact of the legislation within five years of them coming into force.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to quantify the overall impact on independent retailers of the tobacco control measures introduced in the last Parliament.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The Department assesses the impact of all proposed measures before laying legislation using standard government methodology. These assessments are set out in Impact Assessments which are scrutinised by the Regulatory Policy Committee before publication alongside the Statutory Instrument. Impact Assessments specifically look at the impacts on small and micro businesses including retailers. All of the tobacco measures contain commitments to further review the impact of the legislation within five years of them coming into force.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government under which condition of section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 funding is made available to Action on Smoking and Health; and what is the job title of the minister and official responsible for ensuring compliance.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Grants awarded to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) were made through the Department of Health's Section 64 General Scheme of Grants to Voluntary and Community Organisations scheme (known as “Section 64 grants”).
The grant letters and full year grant monitoring and governance reports relating the Section 64 grants awarded to ASH in the past five years have been placed in the Library. The conditions applicable to the grants are set out in the grant letters.
The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health has responsibility for the Section 64 grants made to ASH. The Departmental official responsible for governance is the Deputy Director, Tobacco Control.