Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Bill

Speech by Ross Finnie on Wed 27th Jan 2010

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Alasdair Morgan): The next item of business is a debate on motion S3M-5560, in the name of Nicola Sturgeon, on the Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Bill. Before the minister opens the debate, I call on the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing to signify Crown consent to the bill.

The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing (Nicola Sturgeon): For the purposes of rule 9.11 of the standing orders, I wish to advise the Parliament that Her Majesty, having been informed of the purport of the Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Bill, has consented to place her prerogative and interests, so far as they are affected by the bill, at the disposal of the Parliament for the purposes of the bill.

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): Although some of the amendments that the Liberal Democrats were happy to support proved to be unsuccessful this afternoon, we will nevertheless support the bill at decision time at 5 o'clock.

The whole process has, I think, been constructive. The bill that emerged from stage 2 was better and a number of measures were greatly improved as a result of evidence that was taken, suggestions that were made and the constructive dialogue among the committee and with ministers. As a result, the bill is more robust.

I agree with Mary Scanlon that control over tobacco displays is not the only issue in the bill. No one is suggesting that there is a single solution to controlling or reducing the amount of tobacco in use. However, I am deeply concerned that attempts to dissuade younger people from resorting to tobacco are not working as well as they might be. In that respect, the measures affecting the under-18 age group are much to be welcomed. Even more important steps have been the extension of the bill at stage 2 to cover proxy purchasing and the fact that, in enforcing the law, trading standards officers have been put on a pari passu basis with the police.

All members expressed different views about vending machines. The Liberal Democrats came to the view that no matter how they were constructed, they were not foolproof. However, we have made it clear that, notwithstanding the fact that the measures relating to these machines have to be introduced, we need to be helpful in doing so, and I am grateful for the minister's response on the matter. Other enforcement aspects such as the introduction of a register of retailers, fixed penalty notices and banning orders are all very welcome and will bear down on the illicit tobacco trade.

With regard to part 2, I say very gently to Mary Scanlon that, on the point that there have been no breaches of the Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Act 2004, I, like the member, am entitled to look at evidence from other parts of Europe. I do that, and I have also looked, for example, at England and have not been impressed by the extension of private practice there. So yes, the Liberal Democrats have reached a different view now from the one that we took in 2004. We accept that that has not happened here in Scotland-thank goodness. The 2004 act could have remained on the statute book unamended, but it will be amended if the vote goes the right way at 5 o'clock.

We welcome the changes. The bill is not perfect, and Richard Simpson was right to say that big changes are taking place in medical practice. The move towards a salaried profession is interesting because it would get rid of the independent contractor, to which Ian McKee is quite opposed