Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will pause the roll-out of the smoke-free prison scheme in the light of the judgement of the Supreme Court of 19 December 2017 on smoking in prisons.

There are no plans and no reason to stop the roll out of smoke free prisons.

The legal position on the application of the Health Act 2006 to public sector prisons has not changed, since the Supreme Court simply upheld the findings of the Court of Appeal. Indeed, the Supreme Court judgment contemplated that the government would take voluntary action as a matter of policy to fulfil the underlying purposes behind the Health Act 2006. The government remains of the view that the existing policy ambition is the right approach, given the acknowledged health harms associated with passive smoking. HMPPS will continue to roll out smoke-free provision in public sector prisons that are planned to go smoke-free, subject to operational and health readiness.