[Mr. Eric Illsley in the Chair]
Health Bill
12:00 pm
Caroline Flint (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department of Health; Don Valley, Labour)
Obviously, our intention is to expect all public and business transport to remain smoke-free while in England. As I understand it, the same policy is being pursued by Scotland, and the Welsh are interested in pursuing a similar one. At the end of our deliberations and if the legislation goes through, this should be a seamless area of policy.
Having said that, it is difficult to accept the amendment tabled by the hon. Member for Northavon because of the point made by the hon. Member for Westbury: this could apply beyond the UK. That would raise the question of who would be responsible if somebody went to Belgium or France and did something against the laws that we have here. We are talking about smoking, but we could be talking about speeding or other offences. It is an offence to use drugs while driving; there are offences to deal with that. Testing for drugs is being developed further and further.