Consultation display

The Health and Social Care Committee issued a call for evidence on the general principles of the Public Health (Wales) Bill.

What does this Bill seek to achieve?

The Bill sets out a series of proposals in priority areas of public health policy.

The Bill includes provision for the following: 

Tobacco and nicotine products

• Restricting the use of nicotine inhaling devices such as electronic cigarettes in enclosed and substantially enclosed public and work places, bringing the use of these devices into line with existing provisions on smoking;
• Creating a national register of retailers of tobacco and nicotine products;
• Adding to the offences which contribute to a Restricted Premises Order (RPO). (An RPO prohibits the sale of tobacco products from a premises);
• Prohibiting the handing over of tobacco or nicotine products to people under the age of 18.

Special procedures

• Creating a mandatory licensing scheme for practitioners and businesses carrying out ’special procedures’, namely acupuncture, body piercing, electrolysis and tattooing;
• Introducing a ban on the intimate piercing of people under 16 years old.

Pharmaceutical services

• Changing the way Health Boards make decisions about pharmaceutical services by making sure these are based on assessments of pharmaceutical need in their areas.

Provision of toilets

• Requiring local authorities to prepare local toilets strategies for the provision of, and access to, toilets for public use, based on the needs of their communities. 

Further detail about the Bill can be found in its accompanying Explanatory Memorandum (PDF, 3MB).

What is the Committee’s role?

The role of the Committee is to consider and report on the general principles of the Bill and the need for legislation. The Committee has agreed the following terms of reference for its work:

To consider

• The need for legislation in the following areas –
• Placing restrictions on the use of tobacco and nicotine inhaling devices (NIDs) such as electronic cigarettes in enclosed and substantially enclosed public and work places, and giving the Welsh Ministers a regulation-making power to extend the restrictions to certain open spaces;
• Creating a national register of retailers of tobacco and nicotine products;
• Providing the Welsh Ministers with a regulation-making power to add to the offences which contribute to a Restricted Premises Order (RPO) in Wales;
• Prohibiting the handing over of tobacco and/or nicotine products to a person under the age of 18;
• Creating a mandatory licensing scheme for practitioners and businesses carrying out ’special procedures’, namely acupuncture, body piercing, electrolysis and tattooing;
• Introducing a prohibition on the intimate piercing of persons under the age of 16 years;
• Changing the arrangements for determining applications for entry onto the pharmaceutical list of Local Health Boards, to a system based on the pharmaceutical needs of local communities; and
• Requiring local authorities to prepare a local strategy to plan how they will meet the needs of their communities for accessing toilet facilities for public use.
• Any potential barriers to the implementation of these provisions and whether the Bill takes account of them;
• Whether there are any unintended consequences arising from the Bill;
• The financial implications of the Bill (as set out in Part 2 of the Explanatory Memorandum - the Regulatory Impact Assessment, which estimates the costs and benefits of implementation of the Bill);
• The appropriateness of the powers in the Bill for Welsh Ministers to make subordinate legislation (as set out in Chapter 5 of Part 1 of the Explanatory Memorandum, which contains a table summarising the powers for Welsh Ministers to make subordinate legislation; and
• The extent to which the Bill reflects priorities for improving public health in Wales.

The Chair, David Rees AM, speaking about the consultation.

The consultation has now closed.