Health and Care Bill

Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts

Report stage
Monday 22nd November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mary Kelly Foy (City of Durham) (Lab)]

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

[Mr Speaker]

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:

New clause 3—Cigarette pack inserts—

“The Secretary of State may by regulations require tobacco manufacturers to display a health information message on a leaflet inserted in cigarette packaging.”

This new clause would give powers to the Secretary of State to require manufacturers to insert leaflets containing health information and information about smoking cessation services inside cigarette packaging.

New clause 4—Packaging and labelling of nicotine products—

“The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision about the retail packaging and labelling of electronic cigarettes and other novel nicotine products including requirements for health warnings and prohibition of branding elements attractive to children.”

This new clause would give powers to the Secretary of State to prohibit branding on e-cigarette packaging which is appealing to children.

New clause 5—Sale and distribution of nicotine products to children under the age of 18 years—

“(1) The Secretary of State may by regulations prohibit the free distribution of nicotine products to those aged under 18 years, and prohibit the sale of all nicotine products to those under 18.

(2) Regulations under subsection (1) must include an exception for medicines or medical devices indicated for the treatment of persons aged under 18.”

This new clause would give powers to the Secretary of State to prohibit the free distribution or sale of any consumer nicotine product to anyone under 18, while allowing the sale or distribution of nicotine replacement therapy licensed for use by under 18s.

New clause 6—Flavoured tobacco products—

“The Secretary of State may by regulations remove the limitation of the prohibition of flavours in cigarettes or tobacco products to ‘characterising’ flavours, and extend the flavour prohibition to all tobacco products as well as smoking accessories including filter papers, filters and other products designed to flavour tobacco products.”

This new clause would give powers to the Secretary of State to prohibit any flavouring in any tobacco product or smoking accessory.

New clause 8—Tobacco supplies: statutory schemes (supplementary)—

“(1) The Secretary of State may make any provision the Secretary of State considers necessary or expedient for the purpose of enabling or facilitating—

(a) the introduction of a statutory scheme under section [Tobacco supplies: Statutory schemes], or

(b) the determination of the provision to be made in a proposed statutory scheme.

(2) The provision may, in particular, require any person to whom such a scheme may apply to—

(a) record and keep information,

(b) provide information to the Secretary of State in electronic form.

(3) The Secretary of State must—

(a) store electronically the information which is submitted in accordance with subsection (2);

(b) ensure that information submitted in accordance with this provision is made publicly available on a website, taking the need to protect trade secrets duly into account.

(4) Where the Secretary of State is preparing to make or vary a statutory scheme, the Secretary of State may make any provision the Secretary of State considers necessary or expedient for transitional or transitory purposes which could be made by such a scheme.”

This new clause and NC7, NC9 and NC10 would enable the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to regulate prices and profits of tobacco manufacturers and importers.

New clause 9—Tobacco supplies: enforcement—

“(1) Regulations may provide for a person who contravenes any provision of regulations or directions under section [Tobacco supplies: statutory schemes] to be liable to pay a penalty to the Secretary of State.

(2) The penalty may be—

(a) a single penalty not exceeding £5 million,

(b) a daily penalty not exceeding £500,000 for every day on which the contravention occurs or continues.

(3) Regulations may provide for any amount required to be paid to the Secretary of State by virtue of section [Tobacco supplies: statutory schemes] (4) or (6)(b) to be increased by an amount not exceeding 50 per cent.

(4) Regulations may provide for any amount payable to the Secretary of State by virtue of provision made under section [Tobacco supplies: statutory schemes] (3), (4), (5) or (6)(b) (including such an amount as increased under subsection (3)) to carry interest at a rate specified or referred to in the regulations.

(5) Provision may be made by regulations for conferring on manufacturers and importers a right of appeal against enforcement decisions taken in respect of them in pursuance of [Tobacco supplies: statutory schemes], [Tobacco supplies: statutory schemes (supplementary)] and this section.

(6) The provision which may be made by virtue of subsection (5) includes any provision which may be made by model provisions with respect to appeals under section 6 of the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 (c. 40), reading—

(a) the references in subsections (4) and (5) of that section to enforcement action as references to action taken to implement an enforcement decision,

(b) in subsection (5) of that section, the references to interested persons as references to any persons and the reference to any decision to take enforcement action as a reference to any enforcement decision.

(7) In subsections (5) and (6), ‘enforcement decision’ means a decision of the Secretary of State or any other person to—

(a) require a specific manufacturer or importer to provide information to him,

(b) limit, in respect of any specific manufacturer or importer, any price or profit,

(c) refuse to give approval to a price increase made by a specific manufacturer or importer,

(d) require a specific manufacturer or importer to pay any amount (including an amount by way of penalty) to the Secretary of State,

and in this subsection ‘specific’ means specified in the decision.

(8) A requirement or prohibition, or a limit, under section [Tobacco supplies: statutory schemes], may only be enforced under this section and may not be relied on in any proceedings other than proceedings under this section.

(9) Subsection (8) does not apply to any action by the Secretary of State to recover as a debt any amount required to be paid to the Secretary of State under section [Tobacco supplies: statutory schemes] or this section.

(10) The Secretary of State may by order increase (or further increase) either of the sums mentioned in subsection (2).”

This new clause and NC7, NC8 and NC10 would enable the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to regulate prices and profits of tobacco manufacturers and importers.

New clause 10—Tobacco supplies: controls: (supplementary)—

“(1) Any power conferred on the Secretary of State by section [Tobacco supplies: statutory schemes] and [Tobacco supplies: statutory schemes (supplementary)] may be exercised by—

(a) making regulations, or

(b) giving directions to a specific manufacturer or importer.

(2) Regulations under subsection (1)(a) may confer power for the Secretary of State to give directions to a specific manufacturer or importer; and in this subsection ‘specific’ means specified in the direction concerned.

(3) In this section and section [Tobacco supplies: statutory schemes] and [Tobacco supplies: statutory schemes (supplementary)] and [Tobacco supplies: enforcement]—

‘tobacco product’ means a product that can be consumed and consists, even partly, of tobacco;

‘manufacturer’ means any person who manufactures tobacco products;

‘importer’ means any person who imports tobacco products into the UK with a view to the product being supplied for consumption in the United Kingdom or through the travel retail sector, and contravention of a provision includes a failure to comply with it.”

This new clause and NC7, NC8 and NC9 would enable the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to regulate prices and profits of tobacco manufacturers and importers.

New clause 11—Age of sale of tobacco—

“The Secretary of State must consult on raising the age of sale for tobacco from 18 to 21 within three months of the passage of this Act.”

This new clause would require the Secretary of State to consult on raising the age of sale for tobacco products to 21.

New clause 14—Implementation of Restrictions on advertising of less healthy food and drink online—

“The regulator shall put in place a mechanism for the delivery of the requirements under Part 2 of Schedule 16 which shall require that advertisers—

(a) apply media targeting filters, based on robust audience measurement data, to ensure the avoidance of children’s media or editorial content of particular appeal to children;

(b) use audience targeting tools and, where available, proprietary audience or other first-party data to further exclude children; and

(c) use campaign evaluation tools to assess audience impacts and use any learning to continually improve future targeting approaches.”

This new clause would require the regulator to put in place a three-step “filtering” process for restricting online advertising by managing the targeting of an online advertising campaign for foods that are high in fat, salt or sugar, as developed by the Committee of Advertising Practice of the Advertising Standards Authority.

New clause 15—Alcohol product labelling—

“The Secretary of State must by regulations make provision to ensure alcoholic drinks, as defined by the Department for Health and Social Care’s Low Alcohol Descriptors Guidance, published in 2018, or in future versions of that guidance, display—

(a) the Chief Medical Officers’ low risk drinking guidelines,

(b) a warning that is intended to inform the public of the danger of alcohol consumption,

(c) a warning that is intended to inform the public of the danger of alcohol consumption when pregnant,

(d) a warning that is intended to inform the public of the direct link between alcohol and cancer, and

(e) a full list of ingredients and nutritional information.”

This new clause requires the Secretary of State to introduce secondary legislation on alcohol product labelling.

New clause 16—Annual report on alcohol treatment services: assessment of outcomes—

“(1) The Secretary of State must lay before each House of Parliament at the start of each financial year a report on—

(a) the ways in which alcohol treatment providers have been supported in tackling excess mortality, alcohol related hospital admissions, and the burden of disease resulting from alcohol consumption, and

(b) the number of people identified as requiring support who are receiving treatment.

(2) Alongside the publication of the report, the Secretary of State must publish an assessment of the impact of the level of funding for alcohol treatment providers on their ability to deliver a high-quality service that enables patient choice.”

This new clause would require the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to make an annual statement on how the funding received by alcohol treatment providers has supported their work to improve treatment and reduce harm.

New clause 17—Minimum unit price for alcohol—

“(1) The Secretary of State must by regulations make provision to ensure alcoholic drinks, as defined by the Department for Health and Social Care’s Low Alcohol Descriptors Guidance published in 2018, or in later versions of that document, are liable to a minimum unit price.

(2) The regulations must provide for the minimum unit price to be calculated by applying the formula M x S x V, where—

(a) M is the minimum unit price, expressed in pounds sterling,

(b) S is the percentage strength of the alcohol, expressed as a cardinal number, and

(c) V is the volume of the alcohol, expressed in litres.”

This new clause requires the Secretary of State to introduce secondary legislation that applies a minimum unit price to alcohol.

Amendment 14, in clause 138, page 118, line 5, after “drink)”, insert

“and section [Minimum unit price for alcohol]”.

This amendment would bring NC17 into force at the same time as section 129 and Schedule 16 (advertising of less healthy food and drink).

Amendment 3, in schedule 16, page 222, line 8, at end insert—

“(3) A brand may continue to advertise, or provide sponsorship, if the advertisement or sponsorship does not include an identifiable less healthy food and drink product.”.

This amendment makes an explicit exemption from the advertising restrictions on television programme services between 5.30 am and 9.00 pm for brand advertising and sponsorship, where there is no identifiable less healthy food and drink product.

Government amendments 31 and 32.

Amendment 11, in schedule 16, page 222, line 26, at end insert—

“(da) a drink product is ‘less healthy’ if it is an alcoholic product in accordance with the Department for Health and Social Care’s Low Alcohol Descriptors Guidance, published in 2018, or future versions of that guidance;”.

This amendment ensures that alcohol is considered a “less healthy” product and therefore liable to the watershed proposed for TV programme services.

Amendment 111, in schedule 16, page 222, line 28, leave out from “meaning” to end of line 30 and insert

“given in Section 465 of the Companies Act 2006 (Companies qualifying as medium-sized: general)”.

This amendment, and Amendments 112 and 113, aims to define companies to whom the advertising restrictions imposed by this schedule would apply as medium-sized companies within the meaning given by section 465 of the Companies Act 2006.

Government amendment 33.

Amendment 6, in schedule 16, page 222, line 38, after “unless”, insert

“a public consultation has been carried out on the proposed change to the relevant guidance, and”.

This amendment requires a public consultation to take place before any change can be made to the Nutrient Profiling Technical Guidance under which a food or drink product may be identified as “less healthy” and its advertising restricted on television programme services between 5.30 am and 9.00 pm.

Amendment 4, in schedule 16, page 223, line 4, at end insert—

“(3) A brand may continue to advertise, and provide sponsorship as a brand, if the advertisement or sponsorship does not include an identifiable less healthy food and drink product.”.

This amendment makes explicit exemptions from the advertising restrictions on on-demand programme services for brand advertising and sponsorship, where there is no identifiable less healthy food and drink product.

Government amendments 34 and 35.

Amendment 12, in schedule 16, page 223, line 24, at end insert—

“(da) a drink product is “less healthy” if it is an alcoholic product in accordance with the Department for Health and Social Care’s Low Alcohol Descriptors Guidance, published in 2018, or future versions of that guidance;”.

This amendment ensures that alcohol is considered a “less healthy” product and therefore liable to the watershed proposed for TV programme services.

Amendment 112, in schedule 16, page 223, line 26, leave out from “meaning” to end of line 27 and insert

“given in Section 465 of the Companies Act 2006 (Companies qualifying as medium-sized: general)”.

See explanatory statement to Amendment 111.

Government amendment 36.

Amendment 7, in schedule 16, page 223, line 36, after “unless”, insert

“a public consultation has been carried out on the proposed change to the relevant guidance, and”.

This amendment requires a public consultation to take place before any change can be made to the Nutrient Profiling Technical Guidance under which a food or drink product may be identified as “less healthy” and its advertising restricted on on-demand programme services.

Amendment 106, in schedule 16, page 224, line 8, leave out “must not pay for” and insert

“must not market, sell or arrange”.

This series of connected probing amendments is intended to create parity in treatment of television and online advertising. The platform carrying the advertising, rather than those paying for advertising, would be responsible for the placing of advertisements. The wording to denote a platform mirrors that used by Ofcom in its recent regulation of Video Sharing Platforms consultation.

Amendment 110, in schedule 16, page 224, line 16, at end insert—

“(aa) in relation to advertisements placed on distributor or retailer websites which are associated with the sale of food or drink”.

This amendment aims to ensure paid-for branded HFSS product advertisements are treated as equivalent to HFSS own-brand products on retailer-owned spaces.

Government amendment 37.

Amendment 5, in schedule 16, page 224, line 26, at end insert—

“(4) A brand may continue to advertise, and provide sponsorship as a brand, if the advertisement does not include an identifiable less healthy food and drink product.”.

This amendment makes an explicit exemption from the restrictions on online advertising for brand advertising and sponsorship, where there is no identifiable less healthy food and drink product.

Government amendment 38.

Amendment 13, in schedule 16, page 225, line 10, at end insert—

“(fa) a drink product is “less healthy” if it is an alcoholic product in accordance with the Department for Health and Social Care’s Low Alcohol Descriptors Guidance, published in 2018, or future versions of that guidance;”.

This amendment ensures that alcohol is considered a “less healthy” product and therefore liable to the online ban.

Amendment 113, in schedule 16, page 225, line 12, leave out from “meaning” to end of line 14 and insert

“given in Section 465 of the Companies Act 2006 (Companies qualifying as medium-sized: general)”.

See explanatory statement to Amendment 111.

Government amendment 39.

Amendment 8, in schedule 16, page 225, line 24, after “unless”, insert

“a public consultation has been carried out on the proposed change to the relevant guidance, and”.

This amendment requires a public consultation to take place before any change can be made to the Nutrient Profiling Technical Guidance under which a food or drink product may be identified as “less healthy” and its advertising restricted online.

Amendment 107, in schedule 16, page 225, line 28, leave out “made a payment for” and insert “marketed, sold or arranged”.

See explanatory statement for Amendment 106.

Amendment 108, in schedule 16, page 225, line 30, leave out “made” and insert “received”.

See explanatory statement for Amendment 106.

Amendment 109, in schedule 16, page 227, line 3, leave out from “with” to end of line 4 and insert

“the person marketing, selling or arranging advertisements published on the internet”.

See explanatory statement for Amendment 106.