Health Bill

That was an extremely helpful reply from the Minister. It gives us a much clearer picture of what the Government intend to put in regulations, at least initially. My eyes opened rather wider than usual only when the Minister talked about the fine that was being contemplated for the offence of not preventing smoking in a smoke-free place. A maximum fine of £2,500 is a very large sum of money indeed. I take the point that we would not wish to set the fine at a level that might encourage wilful flouting of the law. The conclusion one has to reach is that much will depend on the way the law is enforced, and whether it will be enforced by environmental health officers and others with a light touch initially. That means that enforcing officers will be encouraged to give a verbal warning before there is any question even of a fixed penalty notice, let alone a summons to court. I accept that we will debate enforcement in greater detail a little later, but it would be highly regrettable if, when the law came into force, large numbers of people were hauled off to court for the offence of not preventing smoking in a smoke-free place when a verbal warning for a first offence might be more appropriate.