Health and Sport Committee

Meeting date: Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Official Report 402KB pdf

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Subordinate Legislation

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Sale of Tobacco (Display of Tobacco Products and Prices etc) (Scotland) Regulations 2013 (SSI 2013/85)

For item 4, I welcome Michael Matheson, the Minister for Public Health, and, from the Scottish Government, Siobhan Mackay, tobacco control policy adviser, and Rosemary Lindsay, principal legal officer for food, health and community care.

I am told that it is a little unusual to take evidence on a negative Scottish statutory instrument, but as at least one member requested that we hear from the minister on the regulations, I decided to invite him to give evidence before we consider them formally. I invite him to make an opening statement.

Thank you, convener. The regulations provide detail on the ban on the display of tobacco and smoking-related products in places where tobacco products are offered for sale, and also detail on the display of prices of tobacco and smoking-related products.

The Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Act 2010 was passed with an overwhelming majority in the Scottish Parliament. As the committee knows, section 1 of the act, which provides for the display ban, was subject to a legal challenge from Imperial Tobacco—the case was appealed to the Supreme Court. I am pleased that the courts dismissed the challenge at every step of that process, and we are now in a position to implement the regulations, which will come into force on 29 April this year for larger shops and 6 April 2015 for smaller shops. In developing the regulations and agreeing dates for implementation, we have worked closely with retailers to find a way forward that is practical but which does not undermine the spirit of the legislation.

As the committee will know, we consulted on draft regulations in 2010, and in response to concerns that were raised by retailers we had a further, extended engagement period during 2011. The most contentious issue was the size of the requested and incidental display areas, which will allow retailers to retrieve tobacco for the purpose of sale and to undertake day-to-day activities such as stocktaking and cleaning. Our original regulations envisaged an allowable display area of 120 square centimetres which is about the size of one packet of cigarettes. Following further engagement with retailers, that was increased to 1,000 square centimetres in the final regulations, which were published at the start of 2012. We think that that display area could contain about eight packets of cigarettes depending on how retailers implement the legislation. The regulations do not prescribe a solution that retailers must follow. Retailers requested that the regulations be flexible to allow them to devise solutions that meet their business needs and budget.

I believe that the change shows that we have listened to retailers and responded to their concerns without undermining the policy aim of the 2010 act. That aim, which is supported by evidence and was overwhelmingly supported in the Scottish Parliament, is to remove displays of tobacco from shops.

The final regulations also include a couple of technical changes that were requested by retailers, including allowing retailers to use the Arial font on price labels and lists.

We have continued to work with retailers to support them as we move towards implementation of the ban. Guidance for retailers and enforcement officers, which was developed in consultation with trading standards officers and retail representative bodies, was issued in January. We are also working with retailers to develop in-store posters to raise awareness of the legislation.

I am sure that the committee will agree that the regulations are within the spirit of the legislation that the Scottish Parliament passed more than three years ago. It is now time that it came into force.

Thank you, minister. Nanette Milne has a question.

I confess to being the member who was keen to have the minister along. I am grateful to him for coming before the committee.

I am pleased that the date on which the regulations come into force, which was initially at the beginning of April, has been changed to the end of April. That is very satisfactory.

I have one or two questions pertaining to the size issue. A fairly simple method was developed to comply with the display ban in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, which involves a sliding door system to conceal the displays. What consideration was given to that? Why was the proposed solution chosen, albeit that the size has been increased to 1,000 square centimetres from the 120 square centimetres that was initially proposed?

11:45

It is not really for me to explain why the United Kingdom Government chose to take a different approach to the display ban. Originally, we proposed a 120 square centimetres display area but, given the feedback that we received from retailers, we considered how to balance the challenges that that would present to them while maintaining the spirit of the legislation, which is to ban the display of tobacco in shops. We concluded that increasing the space to 1,000 square centimetres allowed us achieve that.

My understanding is that the system is a little more complicated for retailers to operate. Does the minister have knowledge to the contrary?

We do not specify how retailers should set up the display; we just specify the space within which they can operate. How retailers choose to apply that in their workspace is a matter for them.

Do you have knowledge of the costs for retailers in Scotland relative to the costs south of the border for those who are using the alternative system there?

I do not know what the costs are south of the border, because we were not dealing with the regulations there. However, a business and regulatory impact assessment was issued with the regulations that we are considering today.

Will you measure how effective the display ban is in the next couple of years?

The information that came out at the weekend from Cancer Research UK shows that we cannot be complacent. We need to continue to consider what measures we can take to reduce smoking. The display ban is one important measure in helping to dissuade people, particularly young people, from taking up smoking. Point-of-sale displays are seen as a form of advertising. To deal with the issue effectively, we need to take a range of measures that will assist us in doing that.

I have no difficulty with the purpose of the regulations and I certainly will not move that we annul them. However, if, over the next two or three years, the system that is being used principally south of the border appears to be more effective than the Scottish system of display, will you compare the two and perhaps review the system in years ahead?

I have no plans to compare the two. Of course, the UK Government might choose to monitor what we are doing, and might find that our system is more effective, although I am not aware that it plans to do that. We have taken what we think is a proportionate approach to try to maintain the spirit of the legislation. What the UK Government chooses to do at the UK level is a matter for it.

I will be interested to follow how things pan out in the next year or two in Scotland. I sincerely hope that the measure works and is beneficial. I have no problem with the principle behind it.

We have no plans to review it.

In light of the recent evidence on horsemeat and other issues, the trading standards people will be under considerable pressure. I am slightly concerned when you say that the requirements of the implementation phase will be met entirely by reprioritisation. Have I understood correctly that there will be no additional resources for trading standards officers to give advice in the initial phase and to ensure that people are complying? With previous acts, money was provided for the initial inspection phase.

We provided resources to local authorities prior to the introduction of the 2010 legislation. About £1.5 million was provided to local authorities to assist with some of the necessary implementation work around tobacco control. That continues to be provided to local authorities for that purpose. We have been working with trading standards officers to ensure that they have consistent guidance on the implementation of the legislation. We provided some of that detail earlier this year to allow them to consider how to proceed and apply the legislation in their areas.

Are you confident that the measure can be implemented effectively in mobile vans that sell cigarettes?

Those vans have to be registered and, to maintain their registration, they have to comply with the legislation. Given that we have that dual approach, I expect them to ensure that they comply.

When was the £1.5 million allocated?

I think that it was in the 2008-09 budget.

So there has been no additional money since then for this measure.

That was part of the preparation for the tobacco sales control programme, which we set up leading up to the legislation.

As there are no more questions, do members agree that the committee has no recommendations to make on SSI 2013/85?

Members indicated agreement.

I thank the minister and his colleagues for their time.

As previously agreed, we now go into private session.

11:51 Meeting continued in private until 12:33.