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Smoking: Smoke-free Provisions
The Minister of State, Department of Health (Lord Warner): My honourable friend the Minister of State for Public Health (Caroline Flint) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
Today the Department of Health publishes a consultation on proposed regulations for smoke-free premises and vehicles to be made under Part 1 of the Health Bill. The medical and scientific evidence of the risks to health from exposure to second-hand smoke is well established and is set out in the 1998 and 2004 reports of the independent Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health, and the 2004 report of the World Health Organisation's International Agency for Research on Cancer.
A key aspect of the Government's strategy as set out in the White Paper Choosing Health: making healthy choices easier is to shift the balance significantly in favour of smoke-free enclosed public places and workplaces through legislation in order to reduce levels of exposure to second-hand smoke. The smoke-free provisions in the regulations to be made
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Taxation: Tax Benefit Reference Manual
Lord McKenzie of Luton: My right honourable friend the Paymaster General has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
Copies of the 2006-07 edition of the Tax Benefit Reference Manual (TBRM) are today being deposited in the House of Commons Library.
HM Treasury publishes the TBRM annually. It is a technical manual detailing the tax and benefit system, describing both the current and historic regimes. There are also tables of time series covering tax and benefit rates, numbers of taxpayers and benefit claimants, VAT and duty rates and the tax burden on specimen households.
Transport: MoT Fees
Lord Davies of Oldham: My honourable friend the Minister of State for Transport (Dr Stephen Ladyman) has made the following Ministerial Statement.
The Department for Transport has today issued a consultation document for the attention of stakeholders seeking views on the proposed review of the maximum
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The increase in the maximum fee level follows an analysis of how long garages actually spend performing the test, which shows it now takes nearly an hour, on average, to fully MoT a car. This includes a check of up to 26 systems and components, including safety critical ones such as tyres and brakes.
Prescribed MoT fee levels are a maximum—some garages do not charge the full fee. Some garages simply charge less than maximum, some offer free retests and some even make no charge for the test provided it is combined with a full service.
The increase in fees will go to the garages to cover the costs of their time, with a small amount—27p—going to the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency to cover the costs of running the system, which will in turn be passed to the service provider.
A copy of the letter is available in the House Libraries. The proposed new fee levels have already been subject to informal consultation with interested parties so there is a shortened consultation period, which expires on 1 September 2006.
Youth Justice Board
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): The Youth Justice Board’s annual report and accounts for 2005-06 have been laid before Parliament today. Copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
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