Health Bill [HL]

My Lords, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is an international treaty of the WHO to which the UK is a party. Article 5.3 seeks to protect public health policy from tobacco industry influence. The amendment seeks to ensure the implementation of Article 5.3, which states that when parties are setting and implementing public health policies related to tobacco control, they shall, ""act to protect these policies from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry in accordance with the national law"." The amendment received widespread support in Committee. The Minister said that she considered the UK Government to be bound by it, and explained the practice of the Department of Health in an encouraging way. However, it is not clear that other departments are as aware of their responsibilities. Furthermore, additional evidence has emerged about the use by the tobacco industry of proxy organisations to lobby on its behalf. We have seen much evidence of that in the long debate this afternoon. It is not just the Department of Health that is covered by the treaty, but other departments such as DBERR and the Treasury. The Foreign Office—the only department with a published policy on the matter—has demonstrated that such guidelines need not be onerous. I am encouraged and grateful to have received this morning a letter from the Minister telling me that the Secretary of State, Alan Johnson, wrote last week to all his colleagues, including the Prime Minister, reminding them of their obligations under the treaty. Engagement with the tobacco industry should be limited to areas where it is strictly necessary; for example, to regulate tobacco products and the industry itself. The engagement must be transparent, and I would like a legal obligation on the industry to declare when something is industry-financed, as is the case with the Save Our Shops campaign. Before I hear from opponents that this is grossly unfair, let me counter one or two points. The amendment does not prevent the tobacco industry speaking to the Government, but it does define the terms of engagement. The tobacco industry has been shown to subvert the public policy process and public health objectives. As such, it must be obliged to work within a transparent framework when communicating with the Government. This is an agreement that we have already signed up to. The amendment is designed to drive forward not the principle, which is already agreed, but its implementation. I beg to move.