Health Bill

Let me make a little progress before I give way again. The new clause provides a general power to make exemptions from the smoking ban. This is necessary to exempt from the ban people’s own homes and places that are, in effect, someone’s home, at least temporarily—in other words, long-term adult residential care homes, hospitals and mental health hospitals for adults, prisons and hotel bedrooms. We are taking the power to make the limited exemptions not only because we believe that it is right in principle, but to fulfil our obligations under the Human Rights Act 1998 on respect for private life.