Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which current proposals for implementation of Articles 15 and 16 of the EU Tobacco Products Directive, as consulted upon by the European Commission, go beyond the original intent of the Directive; and whether they support the implementation of such measures.
Answered by Lord Bates
The government is continuing to study the draft implementing legislation for Articles 15 and 16 of the EU Tobacco Products Directive and is discussing the drafts with the Commission and other Member States. We are aware of concerns raised by businesses affected and are working to try to ensure that the system adopted is effective, efficient and proportionate in tackling the trade in illicit tobacco products which puts public health at risk and avoids the payment of duty.
We will continue to assess the impact of the legislation and the timetable for implementation as the drafts develop, and we welcome and encourage those affected to continue to contribute their views and concerns.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to pause implementation of Articles 15 and 16 of the EU Tobacco Products Directive in the light of concerns raised by UK business, and in the light of Brexit.
Answered by Lord Bates
The government is continuing to study the draft implementing legislation for Articles 15 and 16 of the EU Tobacco Products Directive and is discussing the drafts with the Commission and other Member States. We are aware of concerns raised by businesses affected and are working to try to ensure that the system adopted is effective, efficient and proportionate in tackling the trade in illicit tobacco products which puts public health at risk and avoids the payment of duty.
We will continue to assess the impact of the legislation and the timetable for implementation as the drafts develop, and we welcome and encourage those affected to continue to contribute their views and concerns.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact on business resulting from the implementation, in their current form, of Articles 15 and 16 of the EU Tobacco Products Directive.
Answered by Lord Bates
The government is continuing to study the draft implementing legislation for Articles 15 and 16 of the EU Tobacco Products Directive and is discussing the drafts with the Commission and other Member States. We are aware of concerns raised by businesses affected and are working to try to ensure that the system adopted is effective, efficient and proportionate in tackling the trade in illicit tobacco products which puts public health at risk and avoids the payment of duty.
We will continue to assess the impact of the legislation and the timetable for implementation as the drafts develop, and we welcome and encourage those affected to continue to contribute their views and concerns.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker why the carpet has been removed from the Cholmondeley Room; whether it will be replaced; and if so, when.
Answered by Lord Laming
The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chairman of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf.
The carpet in the Cholmondeley Terrace marquee was replaced with oak wooden flooring during the summer recess. This change was made alongside other improvements to the structure, including installing air conditioning and lining the roof space to improve insulation. These improvements were necessary to enhance the customer experience and reduce on-going repair costs.
The carpet in the Cholmondeley Room itself has not been altered.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question
The Senior Deputy Speaker what is his estimate of the cost arising from the House sitting in September.
Answered by Lord McFall of Alcluith
The planning assumption made by the House Administration each year is that there will be a sitting in September. Most activities are scheduled on that basis and costs of September sittings are factored into the original budgets.
On that basis, the main additional cost arising from the House sitting in September is an estimated £4k for cleaning and porterage at the end of maintenance and project works to prepare for the sitting and around £1k of staff overtime for the Parliamentary Maintenance Services Team.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the contract for the provision of tobacco control legislation enforcement – national support for local authorities, between the Department of Health and ITSA Ltd, ended or will end; how it will be evaluated; whether they intend to extend or re-tender that contract; and if so, what is the timeframe.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The current contract for the provision of support to local authorities in the enforcement of tobacco control legislation will end in September 2018. The Chartered Trading Standards Institute, who hold the contract, provide regular updates to the Department on agreed milestones and deliverables and will submit a final report at the end of the contract to aid the Department in its evaluation. No decision has yet been taken on any future agreement to support local authorities in tobacco control.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which countries the UK will be supporting as part of its international support for smoking control; and when that work will start in each country.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC) Secretariat held an application process to select 15 low to middle income countries to receive support to develop their tobacco control plans.
The FCTC Secretariat will inform successful applicants by the end of March 2017, and publish the results on their website. The project will commence work with those selected countries in year two of the project.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they intend to publish the results of the HMRC consultation <i>Tobacco Illicit Trade Protocol</i> on sanctions to tackle the illicit tobacco market.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC’s) consultation ‘Tobacco Illicit Trade Protocol – licensing of equipment and the supply chain’ sought views on two aspects of the Protocol. These were the mandatory licensing of tobacco manufacturing machinery and the potential licensing of participants in the supply chain of tobacco products for the purposes of tackling the illict trade.
A response document on the licensing of tobacco manufacturing machinery was published on 5 December 2016 and draft legislation was published at the same time.
Licensing of the supply chain is more complex and could affect a large number of UK businesses. Therefore, while HMRC is in a position to proceed to implementation of the licensing of machinery, supply chain licensing requires further consideration. A response document covering this aspect of the consultation will be published later in the year.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total cost of all UK Government attendance expenses for the Davos Summit.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for International Trade represented the Government at the 2017 Davos summit. Total verified UK Government attendance costs are not yet available. As part of the Government’s transparency agenda, total costs for Ministerial visits are published quarterly and the information requested is under preparation. It will form part of the next set of Departmental returns for the first quarter of 2017.Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish a full evidence base, including any supporting research, for each measure contained in their forthcoming tobacco control strategy.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
We have a long track record in this country of implementing tobacco control measures which are supported by a strong evidence base, and the new tobacco control plan will build on this approach. As part of our development of the tobacco control plan, stakeholders were invited to give views during the initial stages. This included representatives of the independent retail sector. We will continue to consult with our stakeholders before introducing any new tobacco control measures.