Letter from Westminster

Written by Stephen Williams MP and published in Clifton Chronicle on Mon 12th Dec 2005

My week has been dominated by the standing committee considering the Health Bill. What's a standing committee? Each government Bill starts with a debate in the House of Commons. There is a vote and as long as the Bill passes it then transfers to its committee stage.

Standing committees are where all our new laws are scrutinised in detail. The committee is made up of fifteen MPs, always with a government majority. So it is unlikely that a Bill will be amended but at least every part of it is subject to review. The government minister responsible for the Bill is a member. This gives opposition MPs plenty of opportunities to get the government to place on record its intentions and to clear up any ambiguities.

The Health Bill deals with many things including hospital infections and the funding of opthalmic services. But the most contentious clauses deal with the ban on smoking in public places. Labour went into the election promising to ban smoking in all restaurants and pubs that serve food. To be fair, they have stuck to this and the Bill thus excludes pubs that don't serve food. It also excludes private members clubs.

I've yet to meet anyone who thinks this messy compromise can be justified on health grounds. Smoking not only harms the smoker but also other customers and staff at their place of work. There is no evidence to say that someone is exposed to greater or lesser harm depending on whether a pub serves food. When pressed on this the Minister told me that the government was simply following public demand to eat in a non-smoky environment.

I don't like breathing in other peoples' smoke when I'm out for a meal. I also don't like my conversation to be drowned out by the noisy people on the next table. I find other peoples' birthday parties annoying. (It's OK when it's mine!) Then there's irritating mobile phone tunes. I'm sure Barry Beelzebub has a long list of things that spoil his night out. But is this a basis for a government to set our laws? It seems that the government are legislating to remove a public nuisance, rather than to improve public health.

We have wide health inequalities in Bristol. Smoking rates are low in places such as Clifton and Henleaze but they reach half the population in Knowle West and Southmead. It is likely that the smoking ban will be fully implemented in Clifton but not at all in Southmead. In fact smokers are likely to be attracted to pubs that don't have a ban so increasing the health risks for the staff who serve the drinks. If private clubs are exempted it will create unfair competition for customers and their staff will be unprotected.

The Committee will report back to the House of Commons in January 2006.