HC Deb 31 October 1989 vol 159 cc126-8W
Mr. Andrew Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many breaches of the voluntary agreement on tobacco advertising between his Department and the tobacco industry there have been in the past 12 months.

Mr. Freeman

During the past 12 months, the committee for monitoring agreements on tobacco advertising and sponsorship has recorded nine instances in which the voluntary agreements that it monitors were breached. The agreements monitored by the committee are the 1987 agreement on the sponsorship of sport, and the 1986 agreement on tobacco products advertising and promotion, and health warnings. On one of these occasions—a televised sporting event—a number of breaches of the same agreement occurred. In addition to this, the committee referred one complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority, which decided that it was in breach of the cigarette code.

Mr. Andrew Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the members of the Department of Health and Tobacco Industry Committee monitoring the voluntary agreement on tobacco advertising and their occupations; and whether he has any plans to reconstitute the committee to include fewer representatives from the tobacco industry.

Mr. Freeman

The committee for monitoring agreements on tobacco advertising and sponsorship was set up as part of the 1986 voluntary agreement on tobacco products advertising and promotion, and health warnings, and the terms of that agreement stated that the Committee should have equal representation from interested Government departments and from the tobacco industry. The Government cannot decide unilaterally to reconstitute the committee; this would have to be discussed with and agreed by the tobacco industry. The independent chairman of the committee is Sir Peter Lazarus. The Government members are Mr. T. S. Heppell, Mr. N. M. Hale and Mr. W. Burroughs, all from the Department of Health, Mr. A. King, Scottish Office, Mr. D. MacDonald, Department of the Environment, Mr. D. Adams, Welsh Office and Mr. J. Scott, from the Department of Health and Social Security (Northern Ireland). The industry members are Mr. W. C. Owen and Mr. D. R. Hare from the Tobacco Advisory Council, Dr. R. R. Boxall, Gallaher Limited, Mr. Haynes, Imperial Tobacco Company, Mr. E. D. Oxberry, Rothmans (UK) Limited, and Mr. B. C. W. Heard from the Imported Tobacco Products Advisory Council. The seventh industry member has just resigned from the committee and has not yet been replaced.

Mr. Andrew Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals he has to make the voluntary agreement on tobacco advertising binding on the tobacco industry.

Percentage speech therapy staff by grade as at 30 September 1987
Regional Health Authority Snr II Snr I Ch IV Ch III Dist II Ch Dist I Ch Dist Snr chief
Northern 39.43 40.89 3.99 6.33 8.73 0.00 0.63
Yorkshire 35.69 49.78 1.12 3.60 6.08 2.48 1.24
Trent 47.94 32.38 4.55 10.37 2.38 0.40 1.98
East Anglian 47.05 36.27 2.22 7.87 5.73 0.86 0.00
North West Thames 40.70 41.08 4.40 8.67 3.75 0.47 0.94
North East Thames 36.13 39.18 3.18 15.59 4.66 0.85 0.42
South East Thames 39.38 39.94 3.60 10.62 5.08 0.92 0.46
South West Thames 28.83 51.20 0.42 13.82 5.14 0.60 0.00
Wessex 46.47 27.99 4.90 13.21 4.45 2.97 0.00
Oxford 31.87 44.40 3.48 15.38 2.09 2.78 0.00
South Western 34.47 49.26 2.75 8.03 2.20 2.20 1.10
West Midlands 45.07 36.03 6.17 6.05 5.11 0.79 0.79
Mersey 41.53 34.48 0.88 13.58 6.88 2.65 0.00
North Western 44.98 37.75 4.05 6.76 5.60 0.43 0.43

Percentage speech therapy staff by grade as at 30 September 1988
Regional Health Authority Grade A Grade B Grade C Grade D Grade E
Northern 13.37 47.96 25.13 11.17 2.38
Yorkshire 7.11 49.83 33.68 5.98 3.40
Trent 10.72 56.83 26.79 2.38 3.28
East Anglian 9.40 59.77 21.78 6.49 2.56
North West Thames1 10.93 63.80 16.37 5.32 3.58
North East Thames 12.55 32.01 36.06 14.67 4.72
South East Thames 15.03 52.02 22.14 8.43 2.38
South West Thames 10.28 54.30 27.56 5.24 2.62
Wessex 5.23 61.72 24.10 5.23 3.73
Oxford 6.85 53.45 28.51 7.19 3.99
South Western2
West Midlands 10.59 59.21 20.43 7.58 2.20
Mersey 13.30 48.23 29.79 6.03 2.66
North Western 14.81 39.98 36.60 4.30 4.30
1 North Western figures as at 31 March 1989.
2 South Western figures not available in comparable form.

Mr. Freeman

The tobacco industry has undertaken to honour the current agreement and its operation is monitored by the independent committee for monitoring agreements on tobacco advertising and sponsorship (COMATAS). The chairman of COMATAS, Sir Peter Lazarus, concluded in the second annual report of the committee, published in April this year, that the industry tries hard to keep to the agreement.