§ Lord Hackingasked the Chairman of Committees:
In light of the discomfort caused by smoke and ash-filled ashtrays to non-smoking members of the House, whether steps will be taken to prohibit smoking at the telephone tables in the corridors of the House. [HL3181]
§ The Chairman of CommitteesA review on smoking in the House was carried out recently by the Informal Group on Smoking. In relation to smoking in corridors and staircases, the group found that opinion of members of the House was split as follows: that smoking should be
- Always allowed: 39%
- Allowed, with ventilation: 7%
- Never allowed: 45%
- Sometimes allowed: 1%
On the basis of these statistics, the Informal Group did not recommend that smoking be banned in corridors and staircases. The group did, however, recommend inter alia that smoking be banned in telephone kiosks.
76WAThe House accepted the Informal Group's recommendations when the Offices Committee Report was agreed to on 16 June.
I have no plans to take any further steps in this matter at present. I hope that, as a result of the decision taken so recently by the House, non-smoking members will now find that they can avoid the smell of cigarettes when telephoning by using one of the kiosks.