Tobacco and Vapes Bill

Lord Dodds of Duncairn Excerpts

2nd reading
Wednesday 23rd April 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Dodds of Duncairn (DUP)]

My Lords, I am firmly in favour of legislation to reduce the harmful effects of smoking. More than 2,000 people in Northern Ireland die every year from illnesses associated with smoking. More than 1,000 die each year from lung cancer, accounting for 23% of all cancer-related deaths. I cite these figures in relation to the suffering they represent in Northern Ireland to demonstrate that we need measures in this legislation that will apply right across our United Kingdom. I am concerned that they may not do so, for reasons I will elaborate on in a few moments. We also need proposals that are workable, evidence-based and capable of addressing the harm caused by smoking.

The main practical problem, as we know, is enforcement. The main burden of enforcement will fall on retailers, particularly small shopkeepers. Many retailers—we have listened to their evidence and heard their representations—work long hours providing a service to their communities. They and their staff, some of whom will be young people, are going to have to differentiate between people in middle age. There is a real fear among many of them about the effects on their security and safety and that it risks criminalising shopkeepers rather than those seeking to purchase tobacco illegally. I am sure that these issues can be addressed in Committee.

As has been mentioned, the significant level of illicit trade in cigarettes and tobacco is already a particular problem in Northern Ireland because of the involvement of criminal gangs and paramilitaries on both sides. What assurances can the Government give that they will continue to drive down the illegal trade in tobacco at the same time as this legislation?

As I said, I want to highlight a potentially significant failing in the Bill as drafted. As your Lordships will know, the EU continues to have full authority in Northern Ireland over 300 areas of the economy and other matters, and the relevant laws concerning many aspects of our day-to-day life. One specific provision that applies in Northern Ireland is the EU’s second tobacco products directive. Its purpose is to set out the various requirements that must be met for tobacco and vape products to be sold in the EU. It requires that there should be free movement within the EU of tobacco products that satisfy its requirements.

The Government have described this as a four-nation Bill, but it appears to me and many commentators that the Bill is incompatible with the tobacco directive as far as Northern Ireland is concerned, since the Bill purports to introduce a restriction on the placing of tobacco products on the market in Northern Ireland. The Irish Republic, subject to exactly the same directive, did not pursue a generational smoking ban explicitly because of the directive, instead introducing legislation to raise the minimum age for the sale of tobacco products to 21. Denmark also considered introducing a generational smoking ban in 2022, and its Health Minister announced that the tobacco directive prevented the Danish Government introducing the ban. So I fear that, unless there is a provision in the legislation that excludes the application of the tobacco directive in respect of Northern Ireland, it may well be the case that the generational smoking ban that we want to see applied across the United Kingdom cannot apply in part of the United Kingdom.

The Government have stated—and no doubt the Minister will say in response today—that they have considered all their domestic and international obligations. One such obligation is the implementation of the protocol/Windsor Framework, but that very framework requires Northern Ireland to abide by the tobacco directive. The protocol/Windsor Framework, by virtue of Section 7A of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, rules supreme over UK legislation. It takes precedence. That has been decided in court case after court case in Northern Ireland, whether it be on legacy matters, such as the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act, or in respect of immigration matters, such as the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024. In those cases the Government gave the same sort of assurances that they gave in the other place on this issue, yet the courts ruled otherwise, as we predicted they would.

I hope that in response to this debate the Minister can clarify the matter, give a guarantee that the Bill will apply across all parts of the United Kingdom and indicate that the Government are prepared, if necessary, to ensure a four-nation, UK-wide approach to override the application of the tobacco directive. This is an important practical measure that affects the health of everyone across the United Kingdom, with not only constitutional implications but practical health implications.

Bread and Flour Regulations 1998

Lord Dodds of Duncairn Excerpts

Wednesday 11th December 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

The noble Lord’s observation is, obviously, right. Folic acid contributes, for example, to tissue growth during pregnancy, as well as to the normal function of the immune system and to reducing tiredness and fatigue. As for the point I made earlier, one of the strong reasons for this policy is that 50% of pregnancies are not planned. Therefore, it is about ensuring that folic acid is available in a diet before pregnancy, whether or not that pregnancy is planned. That is vital.

[Lord Dodds of Duncairn (DUP)]

My Lords—

[Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Con)]

My Lords—

[Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, we will hear from the noble Lord, Lord Dodds, next.

[Lord Dodds of Duncairn (DUP)]

I warmly welcome what the Minister has said. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Rooker, for his work on this, as well as those who worked with me when I had the honour to co-chair the all-party group on this in the other place. On working in partnership with the devolved Governments, can the Minister commit to continue that work of implementation and enforcement through to 2026, so that families will be spared the pain of having babies born with neural tube defects, which is a particular issue in Northern Ireland?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I am grateful for the comments of the noble Lord, who himself has brought much to this campaign. I am glad that, in Northern Ireland, the legislation was laid a few days later, on 20 November. I assure him that we will continue to work with the devolved Governments on this matter; it is crucial that we do. I finish by thanking again all noble Lords, including my noble friend Lord Rooker, who has led from the front on this to ensure that we could announce it today.

Bread and Flour Regulations 1998

Lord Dodds of Duncairn Excerpts

Wednesday 11th September 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I thank the noble Lord for his support in this area; I know that he also worked hard to make progress in it. I can give the assurance he asked for, and I would say to people that if they are concerned, they should seek expert advice about their own personal circumstances. All of the expert advice and relevant committees are content that this is the right way forward.

[Lord Dodds of Duncairn (DUP)]

I thank the Minister for her personal commitment to this issue. Can she give a categorical assurance that the regulations will be amended across the entirety of the United Kingdom at the same time? She will know that in Northern Ireland we have a different regulatory regime for some of these matters due to the Windsor Framework. Can she also assure the House that there will be a common approach across the United Kingdom in both timing and content?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I know that the noble Lord takes a great personal interest in these matters and has also campaigned very strongly. The area he refers to is being pursued because we want collective agreement on this across the whole of the UK, so that we can confirm that it is government policy with absolutely no qualifications, and that everyone is moving on the same timescale. I can confirm that we have notified the EU Commission and the WTO in order to fulfil international obligations and have thus far received no responses; that is why we are able to proceed with the next legislative steps.