Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 3 April 2025 to Question 42740 on Smoking: Hospitality Industry, what his planned timetable is for the consultation on the vaping and smoking provisions in relation to outdoor public places; and what role local authorities would be expected to play in enforcement.

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill sets a duty to consult on a range of powers before making regulations, including vaping and smoking provisions in relation to outdoor public places. We plan to consult on these measures in due course, and we will provide stakeholders with notice of when consultation processes are due to happen.

We expect that enforcement of vaping and smoking provisions in relation to outdoor public places in England to be undertaken by the same local authority teams that enforce existing smoke-free legislation; these would typically be the environmental health teams. The exact details will be explored via future consultation processes.