Hansard

It gives me great pleasure to open this afternoon’s debate on the Smoking Prohibition (Children in Motor Vehicles) (Scotland) Bill. The bill was introduced one year ago this week, on 15 December 2014. Stage 1 was completed on 8 October with a positive debate in the chamber, and the general principles were unanimously agreed to. The bill was considered at stage 2 by the Health and Sport Committee on 17 November and now, a month on, we debate the final stage of the amended bill, which I hope and believe will be passed at decision time today.

Before outlining the changes to the bill that were agreed at stage 2, I want to thank those who have been involved at various points in the process, not least the Health and Sport Committee for its detailed scrutiny of the bill. A quick look at that committee’s work programme shows how busy it is, so I am grateful to all its members. I also note my thanks to the non-Government bills unit, and particularly to Stephen Fricker, Jo Hardy, Clare O’Neill and the rest of the team, and I thank my own parliamentary team past and present—Craig Moran, Fiona Milne and Eleana Kazakeou—whose hard work has made the bill possible.

Of course, there have been many organisations and individuals who have made their mark too, such as the British Heart Foundation, the British Lung Foundation, Marie Curie, Cancer Research UK and the British Medical Association. Research by Dr Neneh Rowa-Dewar and, in particular, Dr Sean Semple has been used for much of the bill. I record my thanks to them all for their valuable input and support going back about three years in total.

I thank the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee again for its continued scrutiny of the subordinate legislation powers. I also reiterate my thanks to the minister and her officials, as their positive and constructive approach has been helpful throughout the past year and in recent months.

My consultation on the bill generated wide support, and the responses produced some clear themes that have helped to develop and refine the policy, particularly in respect of the age of those who are to be protected and the level of the fixed penalty. I am grateful to the many people and organisations who provided input to the bill. There were approximately 160 responses, the vast majority of which were supportive.

I remind members of the aim of this piece of legislation. It is to protect our children and young people from the harmful effects of exposure to second-hand smoke within the close confines of a motor vehicle, where the concentrations of harmful particles are significant, at around 11 times denser than the smoke in bars, on which we have already legislated. A statistic that was referred to regularly throughout stage 1 concerns the 60,000 children who are put in that position each week in Scotland. To put that figure in context, it is the equivalent of the combined population of Dumfries, Hawick and Galashiels, or more people than can fit into Hampden park.

To ensure the protection of children, it will be an offence for an adult to smoke in a private motor vehicle when a child is present. An adult is defined as a person aged 18 or over, and a child as being under 18. Public vehicles and work vehicles are already covered by the existing legislation. The committee had suggested that it should be an offence for the driver of a vehicle to fail to prevent smoking by another adult, and Malcolm Chisholm lodged an amendment in that respect at stage 2, but I am pleased that the committee accepted my arguments against such a provision at that stage. The focus must be on the health of the child and the person who is causing the harm: the smoker.

I turn to the key amendments to the bill that were agreed at stage 2. The schedule to the bill now provides for joint enforcement of the fixed-penalty regime by Police Scotland and local authorities. I worked closely with the Scottish Government to ensure that the regime is as similar as possible to that which applies to the ban on smoking in public places. The benefits, in my view, are threefold. It strengthens the bill without making it unnecessarily complicated or burdensome. In turn, enforcement will be simpler for police and local authorities, as they are already familiar with the regime. The result will be to afford better protection to our children and young people. Aspects that remain from the schedule as introduced include the fixed penalty, which is to be set at £100, although there is provision for the Scottish ministers to amend that by regulations. The period for payment is 29 days, without provision for an early payment discount. Local authorities will have discretion to extend the period for payment if they so wish. I believe that that is proportionate and provides flexibility for changing circumstances. It is likely that there will be some minor one-off additional costs to local authorities, and those have been addressed in the revised financial memorandum.

Section 5 allows for commencement of the provisions to be set by the Scottish ministers. That will allow the measures to coincide with a national campaign to raise awareness of the new offence. I am encouraged by the minister’s clear commitment to the legislation and I welcome the high profile that will be given to such an important new law. Members will be aware of the Scottish Government’s take it right outside campaign, which the minister mentioned in speaking to the amendments just now. The campaign has had good effect, and I will explore options to strengthen it in my closing speech.

The minister lodged amendments to change the term “human habitation” to “living accommodation”; to remove the reference to

“not less than one night”;

and to remove the defence that a person smoking

“reasonably believed all other occupants of the vehicle to be adults”.

The minister may expand on those in her contribution, but I was happy to support the amendments as they provide clarity and are consistent with the policy intention.

During the stage 1 debate, a number of members, including Jenny Marra, Cara Hilton and Richard Lyle, quoted Cancer Research UK, which highlighted that, in Scotland, a private vehicle remains one of the few places where children can legally be exposed to tobacco smoke. If the bill is passed, it will address the situation and help to ensure that all our children and young people have the healthiest start in life.

The provisions in the bill are understandable and enforceable, and I think that they will be effective in encouraging a culture shift and challenging social norms, with a positive impact on future generations.