§ Mr. AmosTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the progress in implementing a smoke-free policy throughout his Department.
§ Mr. HeseltineMy Department has made further progress in the last year towards creating a smoke-free working environment. Following consultation with staff and trade unions, agreement was reached to prohibit or restrict smoking in certain areas within office buildings, and to allow staff to designate their own individual offices as no-smoking areas.
§ Mr. AmosTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to ensure that every non-smoking employee in his Department has the right to work in a smoke-free area; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. HeseltineIt is my Department's policy to ensure as far as possible that every non-smoker who wishes to do so is able to work in a smoke-free office. Under the terms of a new policy statement agreed with staff and issued last October, staff are able to decide by majority voting whether to designate their own offices non-smoking areas. It is not possible, within existing resources, to guarantee an absolute right to all non-smoking staff to work in a smoke-free area, but we aim to meet the wishes of any non-smokers who are not in a designated non-smoking office, by re-arranging accommodation where practicable.