Health Bill

My hon. Friend is correct to say that that matter should be taken into account. However, the evidence shows that stopping smoking in public places does not increase smoking in the home. Indeed, it encourages people to stop smoking, wherever they are. On those grounds alone, we should encourage the Government to drop these exemptions. I hope that, during our deliberations on the Bill in Committee, the Government will reconsider the whole question of exemptions. They should consider their workability and inequity, and I hope that they will decide not to introduce exemptions that will increase health inequalities. I hope that that will apply across the whole country. If the Government cannot do that—I hope that that will not be the case—perhaps they will look carefully at the example that is being set in Liverpool. This is not the first time that Liverpool will have set an example in relation to public health. Indeed, the first public health legislation to be introduced related to Liverpool. The very first medical officer of health was appointed there in 1848, and that initiative was then copied throughout the rest of the country to very good effect. So Liverpool has a record of setting a good example, specifically in the field of public health, and Smoke-Free Liverpool is a current example of Liverpool leading the way. The Government have spoken a great deal about the importance of devolution when asked why a complete ban will not be introduced in England when smoking is to be banned in enclosed public places and workplaces in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. We might not have devolution for the north-west of England—I wish we did—but would the Government consider running a pilot scheme in the city of Liverpool, which has, after all, introduced its own private Bill for a smoke-free city?