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Health Bill

I rise to speak to Amendment No. 12. As a Scot, I was sorely tempted to intervene earlier this afternoon, but I did not do so. I shall confine my remarks solely to the business in front of us. The purpose of Amendment No. 12, which stands in my name and that of my noble friend—who, sadly for me, is off on DCMS duty in the main Chamber—is to probe the Government’s intentions on the definitions of how the Bill will apply, especially to care homes, prisons and places of detention. It is no secret that organisations such as ASH want such premises to become fully smoke-free as soon as possible. We expect the Government to say that they are working with the relevant authorities to pursue that end within a given time. We want to know what time limit they expect for such places to become smoke-free. I gather that the prison authorities are working towards having wings of places of detention that are fully smoke-free, with the ultimate goal of making those places completely so. The other point that I want to make relates to care homes. I happen to go into care homes quite frequently; I do not live in one, but I go to one quite frequently. The majority of care homes now operate no-smoking policies, especially in relation to common parts. I would say that that is the norm. However, some still permit smoking rooms for individuals, because they are the homes of individuals. Again, I should like the Minister to place on record the department’s intention behind the Bill in relation to such places.